Hathun, Second-Week, Fourth-Day, The Now-Year
A younger green dragon carries a dragonborn up to the mountainside monastery, and then tears her apart to make an example to the other Place-of-Scales prisoners. Among them is a quartet of Misthome-based adventurers, including Flearikz, Greech, Mamma Boe and Za'ku, who were captured by the green dragonborn ascendants some time ago. All recoil in horror at the grisly feast, fearing what might become of them next.
Backtrack, one day prior: Kymyl scales the stalactite that exits the City of the Carvers to the mountainside above, and proceeds along the path that his companions' blazed before him. He finds the mysterious dome, the broken automaton, and other signs as he tracks them across the mountain trail and to the waterfall, which he deftly begins to ascend. Above, Slakethirst and Borracho have finally finished their aerial scouting mission, when they notice the lone monk's climb, and swoop down to assist him. The three press on through the trampled jungle plateau, discovering Nexos and his sister's remains. After a brief conversation, the handsome lad decides he should leave with whatever he can salvage of her. The trio of PCs then discover the bodies above...and the stone lean-to which leads to the tunnel into the Ayrie...
The battle within the tunnel is joined by a group of dragonborn ascendant berserkers, sorcerers and trained drake pets, and it gets brutal quickly, with the sorcerers weaving magic to hinder the half-orc brothers and their companions, and the melee combatants beginning to take chunks out of them. The dragonborn escapee Noogal is taken down after valiantly standing her ground for as long as possible, but there is new hope when, unbeknownst to Yukkbutt, Un'krug and Vraal, their struggle has been heard further down the tunnel.
Meanwhile, the quartet of adventurers are forced into a pit fight against four dragonborn from the Place-of-Scales, presumably to convert them into bloodthirsty ascendants. However, they have met their match and are quickly disarmed by the veterans, even without their regular equipment! The green dragon observer is quite amused, and realizes it can use these 'guests' to further his cause, and potentially force a large conversion rate to serve his master Saurvax. The group is marched back to its cell below the monastery grounds.
At last, SlakeThirst, Borracho and Kymyl arrive to assist their allies in the tunnel brawl, and nearly too late, as they are overwhelmed and swarmed by the tactics and ferocity of the ascendant and their pets. But they don't simply lie down and die, rushing further in to face off against the casters, and are only finished off through a desperate combination of healing and self-sacrifice by the heroes. As the last of the dragonborn berserkers falls, the reality dawns upon the party of how beaten down they have come, how uncertain their near future, as their numbers are so greatly diminished...
PCs: Borracho, Flearikz, Greech, Kymyl, Mamma Boe, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt, Za'ku
XP Rewarded: 3800
Inspiration: ---
Renown: ---
Friday, September 29, 2017
Friday, August 18, 2017
25th Fire (8/18/17)
Hathun, Second-Week, Fourth Day, the Now Year
The PCs begin to hike further up the Ayrie, arriving at a rocky area pocked with cavern entrances and overgrown vegetation. Within one of the caverns, two dragonborn have been hiding, after escaping from Pergeron's cultists with the held of the witch Shaul Lutrang. She was slain during the escape, but her two charges, Hogarth and Noogal, managed to eke out shelter and some weapons. Slakethirst is hesitant to believe the pair, thinking they might be a trap sent by Pergeron, but they prove their story the best they can, and win the trust of the party. The group travels further north, until the mountain hits a steep incline and they have to climb ledges through a waterfall to traverse any higher. Slakethirst air-lifts Borracho up to scout ahead, disappearing from the party.
After the grueling trial up the waterfall, led by Yukkbutt (who finds a jeweled grappling hook in the process), the PCs arrive in a misty, small, dense jungle plateau, in which they find several trampled paths and an abundance of wildlife. After traveling another quarter or half mile through the vegetation, they arrive at a shabby stone lean-to which serves as the home to a strange mountain giant and her massive, quadroped dinosaur pet. Unable to communicate with these creatures, she and the beast decide they must be snacks, and a melee ensues, with Nexa and the giant exchanging ranged attacks, and the rest of the party closing in. Cynjak and Nahar are laid out a number of times by the pairs' massive clubbing and stomping, only to have Vraal standby to revive them, and the fight is eventually turned against the mammoths...first, the giant falls, then her enraged companion. However, through the fight, Vraal and others have noticed that several winged enemies, possibly of Pergeron's cult, are circling above, noticing the clamor below...
Then Nexa fires off a spell at one of these winged creatures...a dragon! It in turn dives and breathes a poison cloud over most of the already-weakened party, killing Nahar outright and taking down the other paladin and Hogarth, one of the new dragonborn to join the party. Nexa runs off, terrified at the damage she has caused, while the half-orc barbarians, Noogal the dragonborn and Vraal all make a path straight for the giantess' shelter. Within, they find a cavernous slope that seems to lead up to the next shelf of the Ayrie, on which the dragonborn refugees are apparently being imprisoned. Outside, the green dragon lands and rends the corpses of the paladins to pieces, also snatching up the ailing Hogarth and taking her off to the monastery for a later snack... Nexa exchanges fire with the two winged dragonborn (the other two flying shapes), and they eventually bring her down with witch bolts and proceed to devour her corpse, in a grim twist of irony!
Racing up the slope, the four survivors halt in the darkness when they hear the sound of a small force of drakes and dragonborn berserkers bearing down upon them. Vraal uses as much healing as he can before the inevitable confrontation...
PCs: Cynjak, Hogarth, Nahar, Nexa, Noogal (NPC), Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 1900
Inspiration rewarded: ---
Renown: ---
The PCs begin to hike further up the Ayrie, arriving at a rocky area pocked with cavern entrances and overgrown vegetation. Within one of the caverns, two dragonborn have been hiding, after escaping from Pergeron's cultists with the held of the witch Shaul Lutrang. She was slain during the escape, but her two charges, Hogarth and Noogal, managed to eke out shelter and some weapons. Slakethirst is hesitant to believe the pair, thinking they might be a trap sent by Pergeron, but they prove their story the best they can, and win the trust of the party. The group travels further north, until the mountain hits a steep incline and they have to climb ledges through a waterfall to traverse any higher. Slakethirst air-lifts Borracho up to scout ahead, disappearing from the party.
After the grueling trial up the waterfall, led by Yukkbutt (who finds a jeweled grappling hook in the process), the PCs arrive in a misty, small, dense jungle plateau, in which they find several trampled paths and an abundance of wildlife. After traveling another quarter or half mile through the vegetation, they arrive at a shabby stone lean-to which serves as the home to a strange mountain giant and her massive, quadroped dinosaur pet. Unable to communicate with these creatures, she and the beast decide they must be snacks, and a melee ensues, with Nexa and the giant exchanging ranged attacks, and the rest of the party closing in. Cynjak and Nahar are laid out a number of times by the pairs' massive clubbing and stomping, only to have Vraal standby to revive them, and the fight is eventually turned against the mammoths...first, the giant falls, then her enraged companion. However, through the fight, Vraal and others have noticed that several winged enemies, possibly of Pergeron's cult, are circling above, noticing the clamor below...
Then Nexa fires off a spell at one of these winged creatures...a dragon! It in turn dives and breathes a poison cloud over most of the already-weakened party, killing Nahar outright and taking down the other paladin and Hogarth, one of the new dragonborn to join the party. Nexa runs off, terrified at the damage she has caused, while the half-orc barbarians, Noogal the dragonborn and Vraal all make a path straight for the giantess' shelter. Within, they find a cavernous slope that seems to lead up to the next shelf of the Ayrie, on which the dragonborn refugees are apparently being imprisoned. Outside, the green dragon lands and rends the corpses of the paladins to pieces, also snatching up the ailing Hogarth and taking her off to the monastery for a later snack... Nexa exchanges fire with the two winged dragonborn (the other two flying shapes), and they eventually bring her down with witch bolts and proceed to devour her corpse, in a grim twist of irony!
Racing up the slope, the four survivors halt in the darkness when they hear the sound of a small force of drakes and dragonborn berserkers bearing down upon them. Vraal uses as much healing as he can before the inevitable confrontation...
PCs: Cynjak, Hogarth, Nahar, Nexa, Noogal (NPC), Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 1900
Inspiration rewarded: ---
Renown: ---
Friday, July 28, 2017
24th Fire (7/28/17)
Hathun, Second-Week, Third-Day, the Now Year
As Nahar and Barnowl scramble up the rope to the Carvers' stalactite exit route, the paladin slips and plunges into the darkness of the city below. Nexos strikes off to look for him, while Slakethirst flies near the top of the rope to provide cover for his friends. Once Barnowl gets up the rope, a few of his allies slowly start making their way up after him, but at a normal pace. The mercenary is pressed on all sides by a wave of horrid aberrations, gricks and grells and some sort of super-grick, and he is quickly overwhelmed and left unconscious while the melee is joined. The creatures' climbing and flight abilities give them a heavy advantage in this terrain, plus there is an invisible, cackling wild card flinging spells randomly at our heroes!
At one point, Borracho is mentally compelled by magic to flee, and uses his feather fall to get away from the fighting up on the stalactite, then attempting to himself suggest to Cynjak and Nexa that they should also depart the battle. Upset, the sorceress flings a lightning bolt at one of the grells above, making sure it also slams the dwarf in the face! Bewildered, he doesn't retaliate, unsure of why she doesn't see the sense in his actions. Above, the PCs finally manage to get a hand on the melee against the aberrations, making their way through them and eventually taking down the larger grick and remaining grells, one of which had flown low...but not before Slakethirst has been knocked down onto the stalactite, also unconscious and playing the death game! Nahar manages to rejoin the fight right before its end, offering some added melee power.
Alas, Barnowl doesn't survive the bleed-out...but the dragonborn warlock gets lucky in the nick of time. The PCs briefly curse and mourn, and the party members below make their way up, trying not to slip on the brains, guts and tentacles strewn about the battle site. Yukkbutt claims the large grick's beak for himself, to strap on as an impromptu helmet. Vraal discovers that a robe covered in eye-like patterns has been left behind for the PCs, with a note inside on parchment that reads 'IRONY' in the Dwarf tongue. The heroes make their way further up the stalactite, to emerge in a half-eggshell shaped dome on the mountains surface above. More scenes are carved into the walls of this area, like the mosaics below in the city, but seem to depict a normal skyline, with dragons and hawks, sun and moons, clouds and stars. From outside, Cynjak hears an unusual, slight grinding sound, and when she looks outside, sees something moving slowly about the structure in a semi-regular pattern.
Hathun, Second-Week, Fourth Day, the Now Year
Once morning arrives, the party investigates the moving object, which appears to be a slim stone automaton wielding an ancient bronze bell, part of which is destroyed. As they approach, Yukkbutt gets the idea to attack it with one of the animals from his bag of tricks, and a bear appears, moving to maul the unfortunate construct. Once it realizes its not food, it doesn't know what to do, so the half-orc moves up and dismantles the automaton, and Cynjak mercifully smashes up whatever parts of it are still moving. Mend is cast upon the bell, and then Vraal tolls it, causes a reverberation in the dome they slept under, and then a massive booming in the city beneath, which shakes the mountainside a bit before stopping. The PCs then decide to scale a path heading further up the Ayrie.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Nexa, Slakethirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 2750
Inspiration rewarded: ---
Renown: ---
At one point, Borracho is mentally compelled by magic to flee, and uses his feather fall to get away from the fighting up on the stalactite, then attempting to himself suggest to Cynjak and Nexa that they should also depart the battle. Upset, the sorceress flings a lightning bolt at one of the grells above, making sure it also slams the dwarf in the face! Bewildered, he doesn't retaliate, unsure of why she doesn't see the sense in his actions. Above, the PCs finally manage to get a hand on the melee against the aberrations, making their way through them and eventually taking down the larger grick and remaining grells, one of which had flown low...but not before Slakethirst has been knocked down onto the stalactite, also unconscious and playing the death game! Nahar manages to rejoin the fight right before its end, offering some added melee power.
Alas, Barnowl doesn't survive the bleed-out...but the dragonborn warlock gets lucky in the nick of time. The PCs briefly curse and mourn, and the party members below make their way up, trying not to slip on the brains, guts and tentacles strewn about the battle site. Yukkbutt claims the large grick's beak for himself, to strap on as an impromptu helmet. Vraal discovers that a robe covered in eye-like patterns has been left behind for the PCs, with a note inside on parchment that reads 'IRONY' in the Dwarf tongue. The heroes make their way further up the stalactite, to emerge in a half-eggshell shaped dome on the mountains surface above. More scenes are carved into the walls of this area, like the mosaics below in the city, but seem to depict a normal skyline, with dragons and hawks, sun and moons, clouds and stars. From outside, Cynjak hears an unusual, slight grinding sound, and when she looks outside, sees something moving slowly about the structure in a semi-regular pattern.
Hathun, Second-Week, Fourth Day, the Now Year
Once morning arrives, the party investigates the moving object, which appears to be a slim stone automaton wielding an ancient bronze bell, part of which is destroyed. As they approach, Yukkbutt gets the idea to attack it with one of the animals from his bag of tricks, and a bear appears, moving to maul the unfortunate construct. Once it realizes its not food, it doesn't know what to do, so the half-orc moves up and dismantles the automaton, and Cynjak mercifully smashes up whatever parts of it are still moving. Mend is cast upon the bell, and then Vraal tolls it, causes a reverberation in the dome they slept under, and then a massive booming in the city beneath, which shakes the mountainside a bit before stopping. The PCs then decide to scale a path heading further up the Ayrie.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Nexa, Slakethirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 2750
Inspiration rewarded: ---
Renown: ---
Friday, June 30, 2017
23rd Fire (6/30/17)
Hathun, Second-Week, Third-Day, the Now Year
After several days at Briar's Edge, Lord Barnowl and Nahar have assured that Eagle Klah sends out messenger birds to the other Ten-Tribes, and stocked up on some supplies. Once the chieftain has successfully scryed out the location of their companions, he arranges transport by a strange spell that warps them to a tree in the vicinity of the City of the Carvers. Surprised to see them, the other PCs get them up to speed on what has transpired with the dragonborn, and the group as a whole decides to explore the underground City to possibly find an easier access point to the monastery where the rogue dragonborn and their masters have abducted the rest of the Place-of-Scales populace.
They find a 'warning' sign left to them by the Blue Lantern Society of Misthome, but proceed through to encounter a trio of strange, fungal creatures which deliver devastating tendril slams and also drain their victims of their life's essence. Many forms of attack seem ineffective, but they manage to turn the threat around and eliminate the things. Barnowl empties out some crude ceremonial urns which have been placed nearby, and then the party heads into the cavern proper, a large underground city composed largely of squat stone one-story homes, stagnant aqueducts and wells, and several larger, anomalous structures and plazas that stand out. The city is built both horizontally and vertically, with homes and stairways claiming purchase on the walls of the cavern. They decide to go around the edges and, for the meantime, avoid the large plaza area at the City center.
Their first stop is a base camp that was left behind for several years by a team of halfling and dwarf explorers, and after consulting a diary that Nexos finds in a ruined tent, they discern that the leader of the expedition has gone mad, and the rest of their number have disappeared or been slain while exploring and researching the place. They next decide to follow an aqueduct to its source, which strangely winds up one of the wells on the floor... Nearby, they find a series of large bas-relief stone slabs which seem to depict various cataclysmic events throughout the Carvers' ancient history, though the PCs themselves don't recognize much of it, except Cynjak, who notices a similarity between one figure in the fifth slab and the bizarre humanoid they fought called Diedeath the Mad, whom was originally mistake for some sort of elf or doppelganger. The Carver artist responsible for these masterful sculptures is known as 'Lumus'.
Next they discover a mausoleum of sorts, with a large spiral stairway that leads down hundreds of feet into the depths of the Underdark. They decide to vacate the space, since it's headed in the wrong direction than the one they intend. They head over to another anomalous structure, originally walled off from the rest of the City, and find a large armory with specialized stations for creating stone and bone weapons. A concealed cache of high quality ('masterwork') weapons is then unearthed, and the PCs arm themselves, including Barnowl's acquisition of stone plate mail. Afterwards, they continue to skirt the outer edges of the City, finding a massive stalactite in the Northwest corner, which descends to 60' off the cavern floor. A stone ladder that once granted access has been shattered, but since this was apparently an escape route with a spiral stone stairway leading to the roof of the cave, they decide to get themselves up there with some ropes and a flying dragonborn warlock.
While scouting the stalactite, SlakeThirst notices some sinuous, strange creature climbing about its exterior, and then is ambushed when a lightning bolt is hurled at him...he manages to dodge much of the blow, and then hears a female cackling voice...Nahar and Barnowl scurry up the rope with potions of climbing as the rest of the party prepares to deal with this threat that might block their access to the mountains above.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Nahar, Nexa, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 2550
Inspiration rewarded: None
Renown: None
After several days at Briar's Edge, Lord Barnowl and Nahar have assured that Eagle Klah sends out messenger birds to the other Ten-Tribes, and stocked up on some supplies. Once the chieftain has successfully scryed out the location of their companions, he arranges transport by a strange spell that warps them to a tree in the vicinity of the City of the Carvers. Surprised to see them, the other PCs get them up to speed on what has transpired with the dragonborn, and the group as a whole decides to explore the underground City to possibly find an easier access point to the monastery where the rogue dragonborn and their masters have abducted the rest of the Place-of-Scales populace.
They find a 'warning' sign left to them by the Blue Lantern Society of Misthome, but proceed through to encounter a trio of strange, fungal creatures which deliver devastating tendril slams and also drain their victims of their life's essence. Many forms of attack seem ineffective, but they manage to turn the threat around and eliminate the things. Barnowl empties out some crude ceremonial urns which have been placed nearby, and then the party heads into the cavern proper, a large underground city composed largely of squat stone one-story homes, stagnant aqueducts and wells, and several larger, anomalous structures and plazas that stand out. The city is built both horizontally and vertically, with homes and stairways claiming purchase on the walls of the cavern. They decide to go around the edges and, for the meantime, avoid the large plaza area at the City center.
Their first stop is a base camp that was left behind for several years by a team of halfling and dwarf explorers, and after consulting a diary that Nexos finds in a ruined tent, they discern that the leader of the expedition has gone mad, and the rest of their number have disappeared or been slain while exploring and researching the place. They next decide to follow an aqueduct to its source, which strangely winds up one of the wells on the floor... Nearby, they find a series of large bas-relief stone slabs which seem to depict various cataclysmic events throughout the Carvers' ancient history, though the PCs themselves don't recognize much of it, except Cynjak, who notices a similarity between one figure in the fifth slab and the bizarre humanoid they fought called Diedeath the Mad, whom was originally mistake for some sort of elf or doppelganger. The Carver artist responsible for these masterful sculptures is known as 'Lumus'.
Next they discover a mausoleum of sorts, with a large spiral stairway that leads down hundreds of feet into the depths of the Underdark. They decide to vacate the space, since it's headed in the wrong direction than the one they intend. They head over to another anomalous structure, originally walled off from the rest of the City, and find a large armory with specialized stations for creating stone and bone weapons. A concealed cache of high quality ('masterwork') weapons is then unearthed, and the PCs arm themselves, including Barnowl's acquisition of stone plate mail. Afterwards, they continue to skirt the outer edges of the City, finding a massive stalactite in the Northwest corner, which descends to 60' off the cavern floor. A stone ladder that once granted access has been shattered, but since this was apparently an escape route with a spiral stone stairway leading to the roof of the cave, they decide to get themselves up there with some ropes and a flying dragonborn warlock.
While scouting the stalactite, SlakeThirst notices some sinuous, strange creature climbing about its exterior, and then is ambushed when a lightning bolt is hurled at him...he manages to dodge much of the blow, and then hears a female cackling voice...Nahar and Barnowl scurry up the rope with potions of climbing as the rest of the party prepares to deal with this threat that might block their access to the mountains above.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Nahar, Nexa, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 2550
Inspiration rewarded: None
Renown: None
Friday, May 26, 2017
22nd Fire (5/26/17)
Hathun, First-Week, Tenth-Day, the Now Year
Nexa reunites with her handsome twin brother, who seems to smell of various fruits to various observers and has a strange charm about him. He is ecstatic to see her again. Meanwhile, the PCs encounter a group of bullwugs that seek refuge in the wetlands, and have scoped out this specific underground area. After a brief, friendly communication, the PCs welcome the frog-folk to stay, as they will be taking off in the morning.
Hathun, Second-Week, First-Day, the Now Year
The PCs depart back to The Nest, at which point Barnowl and Nahar decide to split from the group, and head off to Briar's Edge to warn Eagle Klah, a Ten-Tribes chieftain they believe can help quickly communicate the warning of the ogres' battle plans to the remaining Tribes. The others go to speak with WaxMeister Sprue, who helps them translate what knowledge he can of the note they found in the ogres' hideout. They also convince him to lend them his golden sword, which they discover can glow in the presence of other gold, and is a handy magical weapon. There is then some discussion about where to turn next, and they decide to march south to the Place-of-Scales, which was also on one of the ogres' routes, and warn the dragonborn of their immediate danger. They travel through the day and on into the night, with only minor encounters, and then decide to rest a few miles north of the dragonborn village.
Hathun, Second-Week, Second-Day, the Now Year
As they approach the Place-of-Scales from the north, they discover it to be empty, a few sets of bones the only remnants of its dragonborn citizenry. They search pretty thoroughly through the caves, to find that all but the most valuable items have been left behind. One of the local caves on the south side of the Whipwater is not empty, and the PCs encounter the merchant Tyvim Jaava, who they believe to also be a former adventurer of some note. Vraal almost convinces the older man to join up with their group, and he will be compensated with anything valuable they find, but Yukkbutt ruins that opportunity by playing a prank on the merchant, who becomes quite offended. At any rate, he tells the party that Pergeron and his flunkies have spurred on a great exodus of the dragonborn to the Ayrie of the Ancients where they are to meet with other dragon cultists and be assimilated into their birthright...
Due to their previous run-ins with Pergeron, and SlakeThirt's stakes in the situation, the PCs decide they will in fact follow this exodus, stopping off briefly at the now-trampled little refugee camp where they first met Borracho and others. They press on, making the lengthy journey to the west, skirting the edge of the Plateau. En route, they encounter a mysterious, extravagant woman who is talking to and feeding birds off the cliff's edge. Through magical means, Cynjak divines that she is some sort of celestial, so they approach her with caution, but sparks nearly fly when she insults the green dragonborn and irks SlakeThirst, who is ready to attack her. The woman transforms into a flying rainbow serpent and then flies off! The party continues to make camp.
Hathun, Second-Week, Third-Day, the Now Year
As they press further towards the Ayrie, the PCs uncover a scene where some large wooden carts and oxen have been crushed and slaughtered by something monstrous. They find footprints that are far too large for the dragonborn they are tracking, and in fact there seem to be dragonbon tracks making a wide path around the site to avoid whatever happened there. They continue, ever closer to the foothills of the Ayrie, when they come across several massive wooden cages which appear to have large rings atop them that can be grasped. SlakeThirst surmises that, with draconic help, Pergeron's refugees were lifted up the mountain to a monastery that the rainbow serpent had hinted at. It would be far too dangerous for the dragonborn to attempt to fly up there, lifting the other PCs, so they look about for another means they might access the heights of the Ayrie...and standing, looming before them is a cavern entrance to the City of the Carvers...a ruin beneath the mountains, from which few who have set foot have ever returned.
PCs: Borracho, Cynjak, Kymyl, Nexa, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 2050
Inspiration rewarded: None
Renown: None
Nexa reunites with her handsome twin brother, who seems to smell of various fruits to various observers and has a strange charm about him. He is ecstatic to see her again. Meanwhile, the PCs encounter a group of bullwugs that seek refuge in the wetlands, and have scoped out this specific underground area. After a brief, friendly communication, the PCs welcome the frog-folk to stay, as they will be taking off in the morning.
Hathun, Second-Week, First-Day, the Now Year
The PCs depart back to The Nest, at which point Barnowl and Nahar decide to split from the group, and head off to Briar's Edge to warn Eagle Klah, a Ten-Tribes chieftain they believe can help quickly communicate the warning of the ogres' battle plans to the remaining Tribes. The others go to speak with WaxMeister Sprue, who helps them translate what knowledge he can of the note they found in the ogres' hideout. They also convince him to lend them his golden sword, which they discover can glow in the presence of other gold, and is a handy magical weapon. There is then some discussion about where to turn next, and they decide to march south to the Place-of-Scales, which was also on one of the ogres' routes, and warn the dragonborn of their immediate danger. They travel through the day and on into the night, with only minor encounters, and then decide to rest a few miles north of the dragonborn village.
Hathun, Second-Week, Second-Day, the Now Year
As they approach the Place-of-Scales from the north, they discover it to be empty, a few sets of bones the only remnants of its dragonborn citizenry. They search pretty thoroughly through the caves, to find that all but the most valuable items have been left behind. One of the local caves on the south side of the Whipwater is not empty, and the PCs encounter the merchant Tyvim Jaava, who they believe to also be a former adventurer of some note. Vraal almost convinces the older man to join up with their group, and he will be compensated with anything valuable they find, but Yukkbutt ruins that opportunity by playing a prank on the merchant, who becomes quite offended. At any rate, he tells the party that Pergeron and his flunkies have spurred on a great exodus of the dragonborn to the Ayrie of the Ancients where they are to meet with other dragon cultists and be assimilated into their birthright...
Due to their previous run-ins with Pergeron, and SlakeThirt's stakes in the situation, the PCs decide they will in fact follow this exodus, stopping off briefly at the now-trampled little refugee camp where they first met Borracho and others. They press on, making the lengthy journey to the west, skirting the edge of the Plateau. En route, they encounter a mysterious, extravagant woman who is talking to and feeding birds off the cliff's edge. Through magical means, Cynjak divines that she is some sort of celestial, so they approach her with caution, but sparks nearly fly when she insults the green dragonborn and irks SlakeThirst, who is ready to attack her. The woman transforms into a flying rainbow serpent and then flies off! The party continues to make camp.
Hathun, Second-Week, Third-Day, the Now Year
As they press further towards the Ayrie, the PCs uncover a scene where some large wooden carts and oxen have been crushed and slaughtered by something monstrous. They find footprints that are far too large for the dragonborn they are tracking, and in fact there seem to be dragonbon tracks making a wide path around the site to avoid whatever happened there. They continue, ever closer to the foothills of the Ayrie, when they come across several massive wooden cages which appear to have large rings atop them that can be grasped. SlakeThirst surmises that, with draconic help, Pergeron's refugees were lifted up the mountain to a monastery that the rainbow serpent had hinted at. It would be far too dangerous for the dragonborn to attempt to fly up there, lifting the other PCs, so they look about for another means they might access the heights of the Ayrie...and standing, looming before them is a cavern entrance to the City of the Carvers...a ruin beneath the mountains, from which few who have set foot have ever returned.
PCs: Borracho, Cynjak, Kymyl, Nexa, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP rewarded: 2050
Inspiration rewarded: None
Renown: None
Friday, April 21, 2017
21st Fire (4/21/17)
Hathun, First-Week, Ninth-day, the Now Year
After facing off with the butterfly swarms, the PCs are rejoined by SlakeThirst who has been catching up with them after leaving The Nest, and briefly encountering a fairy hunter en route. They decide to further search the caverns before taking a long rest, and after some diving, Nahar and Yukkbutt find a smooth metallic cylinder with spikes on the end, looking like it's made from a strange but familiar alloy that they've run across before. Borracho studies the weapon briefly and learns how it can be operated to produce an electrical charge when prodding a target. The characters take a long rest before pressing forward through the caves...
Hathun, First-Week, Tenth-day, the Now Year
After waking, it's pitch dark in the Verdant, and the PCs get to work blasting and burning away the rotten tree-rubble that blocks their further access into the caves. The smoke attracts a green dragon, which breathes poison gas into the caves after being instigated. In order to save his party, the warlock SlakeThirst makes a personal challenge, which is rejected by the dragon, who claims the dragonborn is 'reserved' for his own father, who supposedly has transitioned into a full dragon. SlakeThirst shoots the dragon anyway, who destroys him and sends him falling to the cavern below. Somehow, Slake survives, just on the edge of death. The party heals itself briefly before breaking through the wooden barrier...
And into an equally frightening situation, since the lair's residents, a group of Muckmouth ogres and an elephant-ogre hybrid giant, await them, guarding several prisoners that are in tightly bound cages. The shapeshifting quarry, some sort of green hag, joins the fight in Yukkbutt's form to confuse them, but Nahar and Barnowl quickly realize what's going on and press her in melee. The conditions of the cavernous area favor the PCs and their spellcasters, and while the enemies employ some runestones and scrolls to fend them off, they are ultimately victorious. They then find an 'Atak Plan' map, a letter to the ogre chieftains of the Arbordark, and three of the Wasp Rider survivors, including the chief Tanziver himself. The last prisoner happens to be a young human, who looks strikingly like Nexa...and claims in fact to be her twin brother!
The PCs hustle off to The Nest and Briar's Edge to warn of the ogre's larger plans.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Kymyl, Nahar, Nexa, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP Rewarded: 2300
Inspiration rewarded: 1 each (to whoever needed one)
Renown: 5 (Wasp Rider)
NPCs
After facing off with the butterfly swarms, the PCs are rejoined by SlakeThirst who has been catching up with them after leaving The Nest, and briefly encountering a fairy hunter en route. They decide to further search the caverns before taking a long rest, and after some diving, Nahar and Yukkbutt find a smooth metallic cylinder with spikes on the end, looking like it's made from a strange but familiar alloy that they've run across before. Borracho studies the weapon briefly and learns how it can be operated to produce an electrical charge when prodding a target. The characters take a long rest before pressing forward through the caves...
Hathun, First-Week, Tenth-day, the Now Year
After waking, it's pitch dark in the Verdant, and the PCs get to work blasting and burning away the rotten tree-rubble that blocks their further access into the caves. The smoke attracts a green dragon, which breathes poison gas into the caves after being instigated. In order to save his party, the warlock SlakeThirst makes a personal challenge, which is rejected by the dragon, who claims the dragonborn is 'reserved' for his own father, who supposedly has transitioned into a full dragon. SlakeThirst shoots the dragon anyway, who destroys him and sends him falling to the cavern below. Somehow, Slake survives, just on the edge of death. The party heals itself briefly before breaking through the wooden barrier...
And into an equally frightening situation, since the lair's residents, a group of Muckmouth ogres and an elephant-ogre hybrid giant, await them, guarding several prisoners that are in tightly bound cages. The shapeshifting quarry, some sort of green hag, joins the fight in Yukkbutt's form to confuse them, but Nahar and Barnowl quickly realize what's going on and press her in melee. The conditions of the cavernous area favor the PCs and their spellcasters, and while the enemies employ some runestones and scrolls to fend them off, they are ultimately victorious. They then find an 'Atak Plan' map, a letter to the ogre chieftains of the Arbordark, and three of the Wasp Rider survivors, including the chief Tanziver himself. The last prisoner happens to be a young human, who looks strikingly like Nexa...and claims in fact to be her twin brother!
The PCs hustle off to The Nest and Briar's Edge to warn of the ogre's larger plans.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Kymyl, Nahar, Nexa, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP Rewarded: 2300
Inspiration rewarded: 1 each (to whoever needed one)
Renown: 5 (Wasp Rider)
NPCs
Nexos (human male): A
straggly but handsome teenage waif, standing just over five feet, with smooth
tan skin and ruffled, dark hair that offset his cool blue eyes. He wears the
tattered remains of a white tiger-skin as a cloak and loincloth, but is
otherwise uncovered, with bony ribs evident. He looks strikingly familiar, in
fact…
Taffi (gnome
female): A wiry female with thickly
knotted braids slick with beeswax, she has two floral patterns tattooed on her
ruddy tan cheeks and a scar running down her forehead and left cheek. Her eyes
are a liquid green and her smile reveals about 50% of her teeth are
broken.
Tanziver (gnome
male): An aged male with what seems a
permanent smirk on his face, this gnome has some of the most elaborately
braided beard and nose hair you’ve come across yet, with beads and j ewels in elaborate displays. His long, thin
nose seems to have been recently broken and there are cuts from where piercings
seem to have been removed.
Trundle (gnome
male): A pudgy gnome with a head like
an anvil, balding with sharp feathered edges to the hair that remains on the
sides and back of his head, that run onto mutton chops on his face. His pot
belly is covered in scale armor and his cheeks constantly puff out as if he’s
chewing something.
Friday, March 3, 2017
20th Fire (3/3/17)
Hathun, First-Week, Eighth-day, the Now-Year
The PCs decide to track their quarry to the Southwest, finding some tracks that match the humanoid size they've seen before on this manhunt. As the sky darkens, they spy a human in a nearby tree in the Verdant, watching them. He claims his name is 'Groat' and that he's been stalking an evil fairy for several days through the area, and he attempts to enlist the PCs' assistance in nabbing the creature. The party scuffles over how to deal with him, some in favor of helping him and others thinking he's a useless distraction on the way to their true quarry...or rather, the quarry itself! Little do they know, the man's 'prey' has heard them muscling the hunter and approached them himself, and finally presents himself...an ascetic with a higher purpose. After some chat, it's decided they will leave Groat behind without his crossbow and take Kymyl, the wood elf 'fairy', along with them.
Soon after, they set up camp for the night. But their sleep is interrupted when they hear a shriek. As they follow up, they find that a gnome whose foot has been cut off was trying to crawl towards the Nest, but he was slain by a constrictor snake which slips off into the wetlands. Judging by the tattoos running up the gnomes arms, he was indeed a Wasp Rider, one that Barnowl briefly remembers seeing back in the village.
Hathun, First-Week, Ninth-day, the Now-Year
The next morning, the journey continues until the PCs find the tracks leading to an overgrown pond next to a massive, fallen, vine-encrusted tree trunk that looks hollowed out. As they approach around and over the pond, they are confronted by some muddy, strange creatures which can slash them with terrible wooden claws and spit acid at a good distance. They manage to take down the creatures, but not without receiving some heavy hits themselves, and several getting knocked unconscious. After searching the muck, they find some baubles and items that the creatures were carrying. They then approach the mighty, fallen trunk, to discover that the vines and kudzu over the base conceals a cavern passage below the pond.
At the base of the slope, the water seems to end, and there are dry, earthen caves beyond. In the first, they find the corpses of several gnomes picked apart somehow, and several giant crushed insects. Patches of green and orange vegetation on the walls turn out to be swarms of carniverous insects similar to butterflies, and the two colors swarm the party, blinding and doing great damage to whoever they can envelop. The party manages to take them down, but not without another brutal fight, and after dispersing the last little fiends they must decide whether to press on further or take another rest, at risk of their quarry getting even further away.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Kymyl, Nahar, Nexa, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP Rewarded: 2200
Inspiration rewarded: --
Renown: --
NPCs
Groat (human male): A filthy, average height human approaching middle age, with greasy black hair so messed up that it creates a natural pompadour atop his head. His whiskers have grown out of control, he wears a leopard or lion's skin (you aren't quite sure), and his teeth are almost completely bent at odd angles. His one armament is a light bone crossbow.
The PCs decide to track their quarry to the Southwest, finding some tracks that match the humanoid size they've seen before on this manhunt. As the sky darkens, they spy a human in a nearby tree in the Verdant, watching them. He claims his name is 'Groat' and that he's been stalking an evil fairy for several days through the area, and he attempts to enlist the PCs' assistance in nabbing the creature. The party scuffles over how to deal with him, some in favor of helping him and others thinking he's a useless distraction on the way to their true quarry...or rather, the quarry itself! Little do they know, the man's 'prey' has heard them muscling the hunter and approached them himself, and finally presents himself...an ascetic with a higher purpose. After some chat, it's decided they will leave Groat behind without his crossbow and take Kymyl, the wood elf 'fairy', along with them.
Soon after, they set up camp for the night. But their sleep is interrupted when they hear a shriek. As they follow up, they find that a gnome whose foot has been cut off was trying to crawl towards the Nest, but he was slain by a constrictor snake which slips off into the wetlands. Judging by the tattoos running up the gnomes arms, he was indeed a Wasp Rider, one that Barnowl briefly remembers seeing back in the village.
Hathun, First-Week, Ninth-day, the Now-Year
The next morning, the journey continues until the PCs find the tracks leading to an overgrown pond next to a massive, fallen, vine-encrusted tree trunk that looks hollowed out. As they approach around and over the pond, they are confronted by some muddy, strange creatures which can slash them with terrible wooden claws and spit acid at a good distance. They manage to take down the creatures, but not without receiving some heavy hits themselves, and several getting knocked unconscious. After searching the muck, they find some baubles and items that the creatures were carrying. They then approach the mighty, fallen trunk, to discover that the vines and kudzu over the base conceals a cavern passage below the pond.
At the base of the slope, the water seems to end, and there are dry, earthen caves beyond. In the first, they find the corpses of several gnomes picked apart somehow, and several giant crushed insects. Patches of green and orange vegetation on the walls turn out to be swarms of carniverous insects similar to butterflies, and the two colors swarm the party, blinding and doing great damage to whoever they can envelop. The party manages to take them down, but not without another brutal fight, and after dispersing the last little fiends they must decide whether to press on further or take another rest, at risk of their quarry getting even further away.
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Kymyl, Nahar, Nexa, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP Rewarded: 2200
Inspiration rewarded: --
Renown: --
NPCs
Groat (human male): A filthy, average height human approaching middle age, with greasy black hair so messed up that it creates a natural pompadour atop his head. His whiskers have grown out of control, he wears a leopard or lion's skin (you aren't quite sure), and his teeth are almost completely bent at odd angles. His one armament is a light bone crossbow.
Friday, January 13, 2017
19th Fire (1/13/17)
Hathun, First-Week, Seventh-day, the Now-Year
Un-krug and Barnowl secure the oxen and oversized cart they will used to travel back towards the Nest, while other PCs perform last minute transactions. Pilaf offers Borracho full time work as an entertainer and masher at the Tavern, after being impressed with the dwarf's own brewing, but the bard politely declines, leaving Pilaf with a jug of his mash to console him. Vraal confers with Udiqa who praises the cleric's decision to help the PCs find the missing Wasp Riders. SlakeThirst tries to recruit some cannon fodder from the village swap meet, but only finds a small audience there. One of the audience, a blind old man asks the dragonborn if he is the 'traitor' to his kind often spoken of, and SlakeThirst responds with an eldritch blast, almost killing the fool! He stabilizes him and then beats a fast path westward out of the Court-of-Crows! The others begin to hear details of the violent episode.
On his way back to the group, Vraal heals the victim Blind Del, who then makes his way to the Enclave to report the incident to Captain Taias Bloodbath. En route he runs across Cynjak and after a perverse exchange, offers to serve the paladin as a personal slave. She refuses, then makes her own way back to the wagon, which is now ready to roll. The PCs exit the Court-of-Crows, to head back to the Nest, and they pick up SlakeThirst on the way. After an uneventful day and evening of travel, they set up camp before the Whipwater, and establish watches. SlakeThirst flies across the river, afraid to try and ford it with the rest. Through the night, there is various fuckery involving a bag of tricks, a Giant Hyena, a sleeping Barnowl, and peeing.
Hathun, First-Week, Eighth-day, the Now-Year
The heroes return to the Nest, to find it rather tranquil. Barnowl visits the staff at Tanziver's tree, and sure enough, the Wasp Riders have not yet returned. The PCs go to collect Nahar who is still helping out the Seer after her maid was killed by the mysterious shapechanging assassin, and they inquire after Klovak, who the paladin hasn't seen lately. They search for the hunter, only to find his discarded skin stuffed into a honeycombed mushroom! Cynjak's dire wolf steed sniffs out a potential culprit at the Waxworks, but then the PCs are confronted by Waxmeister Sprue. It turns out that all the gnome workers there have a similar scent to what the wolf found, but Vraal and Nahar are allowed to investigate the interior of the business while the rest of the party goes back to the Seer with the remains of poor Klovak...
Inside the Waxworks, the two heroes are shown the top inner level which is where the honey farm is primarily located, and then when descending to the lower level, they come across some waxy partitions in the walls which might be the golems the Waxmeister warned them about. The lower interior level is both an arcane study for Sprue and the place where he comes up with all of his candle designs. They find strange glyphs and a golden sword, and then Sprue reveals that he came about the metallic weapon after opening a portal into what he believes is the lost kingdom of Sunken Spires! He beseeches the PCs to join him once the moons have aligned and he can open the portal once again, and as payment he will give them the golden sword and any other metal weapons they might find.
Klovak's remains are brought to Gnoreen, who casts speak with dead. They discover that Klovak was indeed slain by the taloned humanoid enigma they have been tracking, some days before, while the creature was in the guise of Lord Barnowl! Barnowl vehemently denies that he is the creature, but some discord has fomented. Yukkbutt begins to perv out over the old Seer, disgusting his party, while Barnowl actually discovers the rest of the maid's remains under a floorboard! Nahar and Vraal rejoin them to share the latest info, though they have found no trace of the murderer in the Waxworks. The PCs scatter about further to seek more evidence on the mysterious killer. SlakeThirst and Borracho round up as many gnome citizens as they can find to look them over, while Vraal, Nahar and Nexa find the rest of Klovak's 'meat' hidden down in the Wasp Riders' Roost.
Large, clawed tracks are found, similar to what was originally followed to the Nest. They lead back out of the Roost and down to the southwest of the village and out. The PCs have discerned that not only is their quarry incredibly intelligent, but potentially obsessed with its original mark (Nahar) and prone to toying with their perceptions as much as possible. Un-Krug goes to speak with the colossal toad, still lounging at Flumi's Fishery, and it seems to be nearing the complete consumption of the fish pond. He uses his totemic ability once more to speak with the creature, and it confirms in its limited capacity that a large female humanoid did recently leave the village to the southwest! The PCs deliberate whether they should follow, or if this is another ruse by their prey to throw them off...
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Nahar, Nexa, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP Rewarded: 2000
Inspiration rewarded: --
Renown: --
NPCs
Blind Del (human male): A wiry, sightless old man who is accosted by SlakeThirst after asking the dragonborn if he is the traitor, even though he meant it as a compliment. Often found at the local swap meet in Court-of-Crows wearing a leopard-skin loincloth and carrying a bowl for pittances that the villagers can spare him. Also a bit of a lecher, as Cynjak discovers.
Jobbi (gnome male): One of the workers at the Waxworks in the Nest, he claims he is working on making 'Fifth Assistant' to Waxmeister Sprue once the PCs detain him for questioning, thinking he might be the shapechanging assassin in disguise. Normally a cheerful, average gnome with black and gray flaked hair and less exotic features than other villagers.
Un-krug and Barnowl secure the oxen and oversized cart they will used to travel back towards the Nest, while other PCs perform last minute transactions. Pilaf offers Borracho full time work as an entertainer and masher at the Tavern, after being impressed with the dwarf's own brewing, but the bard politely declines, leaving Pilaf with a jug of his mash to console him. Vraal confers with Udiqa who praises the cleric's decision to help the PCs find the missing Wasp Riders. SlakeThirst tries to recruit some cannon fodder from the village swap meet, but only finds a small audience there. One of the audience, a blind old man asks the dragonborn if he is the 'traitor' to his kind often spoken of, and SlakeThirst responds with an eldritch blast, almost killing the fool! He stabilizes him and then beats a fast path westward out of the Court-of-Crows! The others begin to hear details of the violent episode.
On his way back to the group, Vraal heals the victim Blind Del, who then makes his way to the Enclave to report the incident to Captain Taias Bloodbath. En route he runs across Cynjak and after a perverse exchange, offers to serve the paladin as a personal slave. She refuses, then makes her own way back to the wagon, which is now ready to roll. The PCs exit the Court-of-Crows, to head back to the Nest, and they pick up SlakeThirst on the way. After an uneventful day and evening of travel, they set up camp before the Whipwater, and establish watches. SlakeThirst flies across the river, afraid to try and ford it with the rest. Through the night, there is various fuckery involving a bag of tricks, a Giant Hyena, a sleeping Barnowl, and peeing.
Hathun, First-Week, Eighth-day, the Now-Year
The heroes return to the Nest, to find it rather tranquil. Barnowl visits the staff at Tanziver's tree, and sure enough, the Wasp Riders have not yet returned. The PCs go to collect Nahar who is still helping out the Seer after her maid was killed by the mysterious shapechanging assassin, and they inquire after Klovak, who the paladin hasn't seen lately. They search for the hunter, only to find his discarded skin stuffed into a honeycombed mushroom! Cynjak's dire wolf steed sniffs out a potential culprit at the Waxworks, but then the PCs are confronted by Waxmeister Sprue. It turns out that all the gnome workers there have a similar scent to what the wolf found, but Vraal and Nahar are allowed to investigate the interior of the business while the rest of the party goes back to the Seer with the remains of poor Klovak...
Inside the Waxworks, the two heroes are shown the top inner level which is where the honey farm is primarily located, and then when descending to the lower level, they come across some waxy partitions in the walls which might be the golems the Waxmeister warned them about. The lower interior level is both an arcane study for Sprue and the place where he comes up with all of his candle designs. They find strange glyphs and a golden sword, and then Sprue reveals that he came about the metallic weapon after opening a portal into what he believes is the lost kingdom of Sunken Spires! He beseeches the PCs to join him once the moons have aligned and he can open the portal once again, and as payment he will give them the golden sword and any other metal weapons they might find.
Klovak's remains are brought to Gnoreen, who casts speak with dead. They discover that Klovak was indeed slain by the taloned humanoid enigma they have been tracking, some days before, while the creature was in the guise of Lord Barnowl! Barnowl vehemently denies that he is the creature, but some discord has fomented. Yukkbutt begins to perv out over the old Seer, disgusting his party, while Barnowl actually discovers the rest of the maid's remains under a floorboard! Nahar and Vraal rejoin them to share the latest info, though they have found no trace of the murderer in the Waxworks. The PCs scatter about further to seek more evidence on the mysterious killer. SlakeThirst and Borracho round up as many gnome citizens as they can find to look them over, while Vraal, Nahar and Nexa find the rest of Klovak's 'meat' hidden down in the Wasp Riders' Roost.
Large, clawed tracks are found, similar to what was originally followed to the Nest. They lead back out of the Roost and down to the southwest of the village and out. The PCs have discerned that not only is their quarry incredibly intelligent, but potentially obsessed with its original mark (Nahar) and prone to toying with their perceptions as much as possible. Un-Krug goes to speak with the colossal toad, still lounging at Flumi's Fishery, and it seems to be nearing the complete consumption of the fish pond. He uses his totemic ability once more to speak with the creature, and it confirms in its limited capacity that a large female humanoid did recently leave the village to the southwest! The PCs deliberate whether they should follow, or if this is another ruse by their prey to throw them off...
PCs: Barnowl, Borracho, Cynjak, Nahar, Nexa, SlakeThirst, Un'Krug, Vraal, Yukkbutt
XP Rewarded: 2000
Inspiration rewarded: --
Renown: --
NPCs
Blind Del (human male): A wiry, sightless old man who is accosted by SlakeThirst after asking the dragonborn if he is the traitor, even though he meant it as a compliment. Often found at the local swap meet in Court-of-Crows wearing a leopard-skin loincloth and carrying a bowl for pittances that the villagers can spare him. Also a bit of a lecher, as Cynjak discovers.
Jobbi (gnome male): One of the workers at the Waxworks in the Nest, he claims he is working on making 'Fifth Assistant' to Waxmeister Sprue once the PCs detain him for questioning, thinking he might be the shapechanging assassin in disguise. Normally a cheerful, average gnome with black and gray flaked hair and less exotic features than other villagers.
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