From the Ashes (Updated 11/04/2008)

[ThirdWizard]

Okay so I've been putting together a 4e game for some time. You can read about the campaign setting here.

Here are the PCs:
Quinn - Human Fighter, Lawful Good
Korvun - Dragonborn Warlord, Lawful Good
Tordek - Dwarven Cleric of Avandra, Good
Alandra - Human Ranger (bows) - Unaligned
Sapphire - Human Warlock (infernal) - Unaligned [joined in Session 3]

I'll put up more detailed information on them.

Here's some basic information about the setting for those who don't want to read over the tiddlywiki. It's a basic PoL setting with the default assumptions that have been outlined for 4e D&D. The PCs are in the Denmount Coalition, a group of small towns that band together to protect themselves from the wilds surrounding them. The Coalition is in the mountains and make their way mostly by mining. The Greth Traders Guild controls most of the flow of trade and hires out PCs when things go badly. Such was the case in the first session, as the PCs had been hired out by the Guild. That's where we begin the game...

 

[ThirdWizard]

I decided to start the game off quick. We began with the PCs on their way to the small fort town of Rinthorp, a mining community that had not been heard from in over a week, their last ore shipment missed. The Greth Traders Guild, a consortium of traders, miners, and others involved in the area, wanted to know what was going on there, so they offered a reward of 80 gold pieces up front and 80 more on return for information on what might have happened in Rinthorp.

About four days into the journey the PCs were assaulted by none other than goblins! Nasty little buggers, too. There were four of them, two sharpshooters who stood on a hill making it more difficult to reach them, a spear wielding and javelin throwing goblin who harried them, and another one with a short sword who snuck around behind them to attack the less defended members. Quinn and Korvun split up, Quinn concentrating on the spear-wielder while Korvun went after the flanking goblin who was attacking Aladra and Tordek. The sharpshooters went unscathed until the other two were down, as the meleers protected their less front line people, so when they finally got around to the ranged attackers, one of them escaped.

Moving on, they didn't seem to worried about that escaped goblin getting friends. A foolish mistake. As they proceeded on the unkempt wagon trail, they were not ready for the second wave. A war cry echoed over the mountain behind them, getting their attention, and they saw two half-orcs leading four more goblins up the trail behind them, charging. Then in front of them two hobgoblins, one armed with a flail and the other with a bow, came out from behind some rocks along with three more goblins, one with a crossbow - the sneaky guy who got away before - and the others with spears and javelins.

This was a hard fought battle! The goblins to the rear all went immediately for Alandra, surrounding her while the half-orcs descended on the cleric. The archer repeatedly shot at Quinn, trying to fell him, while the flail wielder began to close and the other goblins threw their javelins and shot their crossbows at him. They put top priority in saving the ranger, and Quinn, in a great moment, cleaved down every one of her flankers at once and turned back to the flail-wielding hobgoblin. Korvun kept his attention on the half-orcs, one of which Tordek hit with a powerful prayer that sent him running away in fear. Alandra decided those half-orcs looked dangerous and were way too close to her so she let loose arrows at the one Korvun had engaged in battle.

Then the half-orc engaged Korvun in conversation! No one expected that, but he said he would turn on his hobgoblin masters if the price was right. Korvun, however, would have none of that, and he refused to work with a half-orc, especially one who was waylaying travelers on the roads. He might have even had something to do with the events in Rinthorp. The odds were stacked against the group of PCs, but he would not waver in his beliefs, and he responded with a heavy blow to the half-orc with his falchion. The orc turned to him in pure rage, and told him he would die for daring turn him down.

While this was going on, Quinn was not looking good. The archer was doing a number on him, and he was having trouble penetrating the flail-wielder's armor to get a good hit on him. Turning on the goblins, he took one of them down after a few well-placed slices with his halberd while the others finished off one of the half-orcs behind him, everyone pulling into a tight formation so that no one could be flanked. After one of the half-orcs went down, the returning one, who had been scared away by the magic of Tordek, attacked Korvun with a frenzy of blows, his eyes wild and his swings crazed.

At this point, they weren't sure they were going to make it out of this without someone dying, but some morale boosting words from Korvun and some well placed divine intervention from Tordek kept Quinn on his legs fighting. Thanks to a barrage of arrows from Alandra and some devistating blows from Korvun, the last half-orc fell beside his brother in arms. The rear guard could finally turn their attention back to the hobgoblins and two remaining goblins. Korvun immediately came to Quinn's aid, teamwork between the two getting them a flanking position on the flail-wielder, while Alandra dropped the javelin tossing goblin when he moved over to attack her. A concerted attack against the hobgoblin then dropped him, and they turned to the archer and sharpshooter, who couldn't stand up to the frontal assault of the four PCs. The sharpshooter tried to flee again, but couldn't escape and was dropped by a blast of holy radiance from Tordek.

Examining the dead creatures, Alandra was able to place them as Bloodrock Clan goblins, and Korvun recognized the name and said that Bloodrock were native to the area just north of here and gave a short history lesson on the clan. Overall it was nothing exceptional, but it might be indicative of movement of that clan.

After this battle, the PCs were tired, hurt, and did not want to continue onward. The battle had taken a lot of out of them, but they made camp and set watch, just up the wagon trail from where the battle had taken place, leaving the fallen where they lay.

OOC Comments:
[sblock]The battles went very smoothly and were a blast to play. There were lots of enemies, and it really let every PC shine - repeatedly. There were a lot of moments where the players really thought things were about to go south and could have, but they managed to figure something out. For example, when the goblin cutters surrounded the ranger, that could have been very bad for her, but the fighter's player was able to move in, do a cleave to kill two of them, use an action point, then do another cleave to finish off the other two! Okay, some good rolling helped them.

This game was a lot better than the brief one I played with the pregens from the DDXP months ago. Playing a character who you created is infinitely more fun than playing a pregenerated character. We also had the full rules, so we were able to look up a few things when we weren't sure about them. For example, is Armor Class a Defense? Yes it is! And so forth. Luckily we didn't have to look up many things and when we did, the index was a big help in that regard. I was very consciously sure not to just put ideas down because I thought they were overpowered. I went by the rules and everything worked out smoothly.

So, I started the game out with combat to get everyone's attention quick (an old DM trick). And now that everyone's attention was rapt from the adrenaline rush of imminent danger, I eased back on the throttle as they made their way to Rinthorp.
[/sblock]

Next time: The PCs arrive at Rinthorp!

 

[ThirdWizard]

Rinthorp was a hovel by anyone's standards. It was surrounded by a wall about 20 feet tall, and after knocking on the gate, they were allowed in by two guards - Ward and Willabee. These two had seen better days. They were obviously not in the best condition. Willabee had a bandaged arm and Ward walked with a limp. The PCs talked with the two for a little while and learned that they had seen goblins about, fought them a few times, but for the most part the creatures didn't attack the fort directly.

Asking about the mines, the two guards got somber. The told the PCs that the morning before, at about sunrise, one of the miners, Garret, arrived from the mine, feverish and sick. His skin was flaking and he seemed out of it. They look him to the local priest of Pelor, Brother Tannis, to care for him. They seemed uncomfortable, and some of the PCs realized that they seemed to be holding something back. The party decided to split up. Quinn and Korvun would go to see the local Reeve in charge of the fort town, and Tordek and Alandra would go with Ward to see Brother Tannis and see if they could do anything to aid the sick man.

Quinn and Korvun arrived at the Reeve's manor. It wasn't much to speak of, perhaps four rooms. Inside, they met with Reeve Hill. His bodyguard, an unmoving warforged, stood with him. They quickly got a picture of the man that they were none too pleased with. He was obviously more concerned with getting the mining back on track than he was with the safety of his miners. They managed to hold their tongues, however, and quickly excused themselves from his presence.

The others walked with Ward to the home of Brother Tannis and pushed him for more information. They found that he was holding some things back. It seems that Garret was crazed when he arrived. He was babbling, writhing and trying to escape. He bit Willabee, and they could see madness in his eyes. It was all they could do to get him to Brother Tannis for treatment. But, they didn't hold much hope for improvement. When the three arrived at Brother Tannis's home, Ward went back to his post and Brother Tannis, after being persuaded, let the two PCs into his home to look at Garret. What they found was worse than they had imagined. His skin was peeling and coming off, almost leper-like, he was writing on the bed murmuring in his sleep.

Tordek got to work looking over the man and doing all he could to help him, hoping to bring him back from his state, to at least ease his pain and stop whatever nightmares he was having. It was a long process, and Quinn and Korvun arrived while he was busy at work. They had a quick talk, exchanging information, and they quickly determined that whatever was going on was much more than a goblin problem.

OOC Comment
[sblock]This was the first great moment of the session from a DM perspective. The players realized that something was seriously up and that they could be stepping into something not savory at all by heading up to that mine. Invoking fear in players is something that can be difficult, and I just had to savor that particular moment. I set up the goblins as the enemy then pulled that rug out from under them in one fell swoop. And it worked! As a DM you try and try this kind of thing over and over and when it sticks its golden. I got lucky in the first session of the campaign, and I think that is going to really pump up the campaign as a whole![/sblock]

Quinn and Korvun left again to go try to get some more information about what was going on, being thrown by events so far. Asking around town, they found out about another person in town, a young half-elf, Sister Martha of the priesthood of Erathis. Visiting her, they found that she had been in town about a month, trying to prepare the way for her superior, Minister Hallthew. The town is hoping to expand due to its success, and Erathis is heavily involved whenever that is a possibility. They talked with her for a while before returning to the home of Tannis and checking up on Alandra and Tordek.

Unfortunately, things were not going well for Tordek. He hadn't done anything for the man and it was starting to get late at this point. They returned to Sister Martha and she found a place to put them up for the night, one of the homes of a miner who had no family so his house was empty. Early the next morning they set out for the mines, which were not far away but with the difficult mountain climb would take the better part of the day to reach. About halfway up the mountain, they spotted some figures above them, and Alandra was able to identify them as goblins. This really spooked them, there was talk of ambushes, rock dropping, and yes even pouring boiling old down upon them from their perches above.

However, they reached the mine without incident at sundown. Heading into the mine, the PCs found two main tunnels, one a newer tunnel and an older tunnel. After a quick debate, they went down the newer tunnel, which was only perhaps twenty or thirty yards long and ended in a dead end with a pile of dead bodies, maybe ten or so people, all with chunks of meat taken out of them and their skulls cracked open. Hearts sunk and stomaches churned, and they suddenly felt very much in danger. Alandra caught a glint out of the corner of her eye, and pointing it out to the others they investigated, the glint turning out to be a vein of silver. Iron Ore was the only metal they knew about coming from this mine, so they took a mental note of this and turned to explore the other areas of the mine.

Heading down the older tunnels, figures came into their light ahead who turned out to be miners ravaged by whatever disease had afflicted Garret. They appeared to be alive, huddled in a corner and unmoving. Without being able to do anything for them, the PCs continued on down the mine shafts, ready for anything. Finally, emerging into a large cavernous lit room, they found themselves face to face with what must have once been a priest of Tiamat blocking the way to a door behind him. The priest was in robes, the holy symbol of Tiamat around his neck. However his eyes were sewn shut, fresh cuts all along his face and arms. His holy symbol had been defaced, desecrated with cuts and bits carved out of it. Around the room were more huddled miners, ravaged by disease. And as they entered, it was as if he turned and looked at them, though his eyes were sewn shut. In a commanding voice he bellowed "Interlopers! You will not escape here with your lives. Rise, my minions, and slay them!" And, at his call, the miners rose limply, their skin hanging off, and turned to face the PCs. They looked dead, not breathing, not moving like people. Like zombies. In the dimness, the PCs recognized that two of the figures were not, indeed, human, but were hobgoblin.

Then battle ensued. The PCs made a line in the tunnel so that the enemy couldn't get to the ranger while the priest stepped forward to blast them with rays of necrotic energy. The zombies shambled forward, grabbing at Korvun and Tordek and biting and gnashing their exposed flesh. One zombie brutally bit down on Korvun while the priest held out both arms and the three in front felt their minds exploding with pain, making it difficult to think. The zombies continued their onslaught, but Tordek called upon his faith in Avandra to push back the vile undead. Quinn moved forward to catch others as they approached, and the group was able to hold their line against the oncoming undead. The priest once again let loose with a blast, this time of cold which made it difficult for the PCs to move forward, and as the zombies continued to hold them and bite, the line behind Quinn was closed, cutting him off form the others. He pushed forward, however, and attacked the priest directly, pressing forward while the others handled the zombies as best they could.

After several bad bites from the zombies he was facing off against, Korvun came to the aid of Tordek, and together with Alandra they began picking them off one by one. At the same time, Quinn having engaged the priest in melee was able to defeat him without the backup of his minions. By the time Quinn had killed their leader and returned, the others had dropped the last zombie. They bandaged themselves up and wondered what might have happened here. The priest had once been a follower of Tiamat, but had he done those things to his symbol himself? Was he responsible for the illness or another? Hopefully answers would lie further in the mines. Then a sinking feeling dawned on them as they looked at the zombie bites on Korvun and Tordek. Did the same fate await them? What about the town? Brother Tannis should be able to watch Garret, so they should be fine. But, wait... wasn't Willabee bitten?

OOC Comment [sblock]This was the single greatest moment of the session for me, as DM. When the PCs realized that, oh crap, biting zombie illness being spread! It's classic, and no one suspected until after the fight was over and the adrenaline rush had died down. Two PCs had been bitten and could possibly turn into zombies at any time in the adventure, necessitating the others to have to put them down. They couldn't be trusted, couldn't be left alone, and they played it to the hilt to everyone's enjoyment. Korvun, especially, as he failed his first Endurance check to stave off the disease (more on that later) played up the whole zombification aspect. And, of course, what awaited them back in town? Willabee was bitten... and that was days ago. How far was he along in the disease? Was the town safe? What would be there when they got back? It was just great![/sblock]

The PCs carefully went through the door. On the other side they found several summoning circles - five to be exact, one of which was occupied by some kind of shadow creature. And it spoke to them. And offered them information, ways to help the people who might be in danger, ways to stop what could have been set in motion. All he asked was to be freed from his confinement, and he would go back to his place of origin (which he never spoke in name), and they would have the knowledge they needed. Who summoned them? For what purpose? Where were the other four? He played to their desire to help the villagers, the miners, and stop whatever might happen in the future should they not be able to stop the others.

But, the PCs held fast. They didn't trust it, obviously, and they couldn't be sure it wouldn't turn on them as soon as it was freed, nor that the information would be true or only filled with half truths. He was a demon perhaps, or a devil, a shadow... they had no idea and no way of knowing what to expect from it, power-wise or information wise. He prodded saying that someone else would find him, someone who couldn't protect them self, someone who desired power for their own purposes. They still did not waver.

In the room was also a table with some ritual supplies and a book. The book was locked tight, a large leather bound tome with no obvious markings anywhere on it. The creature in the circle told them that there was a word that could be used to open the tome, and that he would be more than happy to give them the word in exchange for its freedom, but again they didn't agree to free it. Finally leaving, it said that it would await their return, smiling. Quinn mused to himself that the creature just might be right...

On the way out, the miners who they had passed and were afflicted with the sickness rose and attacked them. They fought them back and defeated them. Counting all the miners up, they determined that there were still two unaccounted for. There had been ten dead bodies, three with the priest, another four they just fought, and Garret. Of the twenty miners, that left two they had not seen. Making another mental note, they pressed onward.

It was late, the mountain path steep, and while things might be bad in Rinthorp, with goblins about and with so little light, they couldn't risk heading down to the hamlet until morning. Whatever might happen down there would have to wait. They would be no good to the people tired, injured, and with possible wounded of their own. So, they rested for the night just inside the mines, and after a quiet night, headed back down the mountain to Rinthorp. Tordek felt fine after a night's rest, but Korvun felt worse, pasty, feverish, and not well at all. The others worried about him possibly turning, but moved on anyway, keeping a close eye on him. Luckily, while they saw evidence of goblin activity, they were not attacked.

Next time: Back in Rinthorp... What will they find?

 

[ThirdWizard]

They arrived at Rinthorp that night, the hike taking all their daylight. Rapping at the gates had no reply, and they feared the worst. They decided to send one person over to try and open the gates from the other side, a very risky maneuver for the lone climber if zombies had infested the town. Quinn volunteered being the best climber and made it over quickly and easily. At the top he listened and heard the sounds of fighting going on in town, so he quickly let the others in and they rushed to the aid of whomever was left in town.

They found Ward fighting back a pack of zombies, a few fallen near him, but he was injured. Engaging the zombies with him, Tordek healed him of his wounds and the others fought down the zombies. It was difficult, for more reasons than the physical toll, but that the zombies' faces were those of people they had talked to earlier, but they won. Ward told them that things had gone bad. Willabee had gone crazy and attacked the other villagers after the PCs left. And it had spread from there. Now he wasn't sure who was left. Sister Martha had gathered up what children they could save and they were in the house he was protecting. Reeve Hill had locked himself in his manor and wasn't letting anyone in. Brother Tannis was not to be found.

After quick deliberation, the PCs decided that they needed to keep everyone as safe as possible in a central location, at least until morning. They didn't want to move the children through the streets, but they couldn't leave them alone with Willabee, who had been bitten repeatedly, or Korvun, who could also turn into a zombie. Splitting the party under the best of circumstances is a bad idea, and these were not best of circumstances. So, they kept the kids together as best they could and surrounded them to protect them from any zombie attacks. The psychological trauma of their dead mothers trying to eat their brains would have to come later.

OOC
[sblock]In order to minimize the impact of kids possibly being eaten by zombies, the players insisted on using tokens to represent the children instead of actual miniatures.
[/sblock]

Off they went, and lucky for them that they had taken positions around the kids, because as they moved down the street, zombies came at them from every direction - four of them. Quinn, Korvun, Tordek, and Ward each engaged a different zombie to keep them away while Alandra helped them by shooting zombies down. Felling each one individually, they got by with minimal casualties. No one who wasn't exposed to the illness was bitten, and they moved on to the manor. Reeve Hill had it locked up tight, but a few well placed words (and a few threats) got the PCs inside. There Tordek treated Ward for the night, hoping to cure him as best he could. The others barred windows, moved furniture in front of doors, and survived the night.

In the morning, the zombies were gone. Ward looked better, as did Korvun. Neither of them had turned, thankfully, and they decided that their first order of business was to find and kill the zombies then get everyone out of town and back to Grethtown where they had come from. Searching around town, they found zombies in homes, hiding from the light, none of them fighting back during the day. They killed them all. Brother Tannis was nowhere to be found, neither alive nor zombie. Finally, when that horrible work was done, they packed up the children in the wagon and headed for civilization. They worried about goblin attacks, but perhaps the creatures were scared away by the sight of Ward and the warforged along with the group, six strong fighters heading over the wagon trail.

The trip was almost a week and by the time they reached town, they had manged to cure both Ward and Korvun of the affliction so that they didn't have to worry about the zombie illness spreading through that town. They were paid, with extra for the dangerous work, and now they plan on finding out the secrets of the book they found as well as trying to uncover the mystery behind the strange priest and the creature in the circle. They also need to be very wary of the return to the mines and what dangers might lie in wait for anyone who tries to reopen them.

That wrapped up the first session.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Session 2 - Coming Winter

Introduction

After saving the people of Rinthorp, our heroes were well received in Grethtown, and they were immediately hired to help rebuild the broken fort village. They spent the next couple of weeks helping travelers go back and forth between Grethtown and Rinthorp, talking to soldiers about its future defense, and making inroads with various people in Grethtown. They discovered that, somehow, the creature in the summoning circle had disappeared, but they still had the book they found within the mines as a clue to its identity.

Other than that work, they did a few odd jobs here and there as well as practiced their crafts. Korvun studied in the great Temple to Bahamut in Grethtown, the center for his priesthood in the territories of Reskia. Tordek spread the word of Avandra in Grethtown. Even in the city he was able to find fellow worshippers, and with their help constructed a small shrine on the outskirts of town.

After just over a fortnight, they were able to find their first lead in discovering the origin of the creature in the mine. They heard of an eladrin scholar, Caelynnasidhe, who had studied various creatures and rites involving otherplanar beings and might be able to find out something about the mysterious shadow being in the mines that was now missing. Investigation turned up that a local influential member of the Greth Traders Guild could help them, an elf named Aeryana Sehee. Meeting with her, they discovered the way to the eladrin’s tower: up the North Road, then Westward following a creek, and finally North when they reached a rock formation that looks like the claws of a dragon.

This would take them into the Kelbrook Forest, a dangerous place for non-fey. Many stories abound about the forest, from travelers losing their souls to being replaced by fey creatures who play mortal. If this eladrin lived in Kelbrook, she probably had some connection to the Feywild, and that meant danger.

And so, the adventurers set out into the unknown...

 

[Caldarion]

Awesome!!! I felt goose-bumps reading about the disease taking hold of people they had talked to earlier. Good stuff!! I'm following this story! =)

 

[ThirdWizard]

Before they got into the forest, the PCs were attacked by roving bandits. Bandits are all over the areas outside the Coalition, so it wasn't a surprise when a bunch of guys, roughly eight men with clubs and rough leather armor, jumped out from the trees around the small dirt road. Then ahead of them from up the trail strolled a halfling with a cup of wine in one hand and a dagger in the other, two big body guards beside him.

"Lay down your gold, and you shall not be struck dead. I am the Bandit King, and you are in my territory." He called out to them. The halfling was smug and his voice full of superiority to the travelers. It was obvious he was used to dealing with riffraff.

And, at this point, Alandra really wanted to shoot him. We rolled for initiative, the ranger went first, and wham wham went two arrows at the poor Bandit King. He was brought down to single digit hit points and cried out in pain, yelling "That's not how its supposed to happen! That's not how its supposed to happen! Kill them all!" as he huddled back, holding his wounded leg and arm.

The bandits jumped into action, assaulting the PCs. What followed was a difficult fight. The bandits went down quickly, but they outnumbered the PCs and the two bodyguards were trouble. Alandra had to work to keep away from the melee while Tordek had one on him almost immediately. Korvun and Quinn fought off the body guards. There were some close calls, Tordek's healing was brought to the test, and Korvun went unconcous multiple times, but our heroes pulled through.

When the dust had settled, the halfling "Bandit King" was nowhere to be found. They tracked him as best they could. Nobody seemed to like the idea of the guy surviving. The blood trail was easy enough to follow, however it looked like he eventually bandaged himself up, and they lost him. Deciding that they didn't have enough rations or time to go full blown search, they continued up the North road, toward the Kelbrook Forest.

They reached the creek without further incident, stepping off the trail and into the unknown to follow Aeryana's directions. It wasn't too difficult following the creek. While they couldn't keep close to it all the time due to the underbrush, Alandra proved to be quite skilled, and they didn't lose the creek.

They traveled like this for several days, and they had barely been in the forest before they were attacked one night by a group of wolves. These were no ordinary wolves, however, they were led by a fey wolf, which Korvun identified as a creature of the Feywild who could travel between the two worlds at dawn and at dusk, talking to and hunting with normal gray wolves, and living for the hunt. It attacked them just as the sun began to set, luckily before they had bedded down for the night.

Three gray wolves and the fey wolf surrounded the campsite, each coming from a different direction, leaving the party nowhere to move toward as a safer location. Korvun ran to intercept the big fey wolf before it could reach the others, while Quinn used his long halberd to try and keep the others at bay with the help of Alandra and Tordek.

It wasn't long before the mobile wolves proved to be difficult to contain, however, and they broke off into groups of two, surrounding their prey and dropping them to the ground to maul them. The PCs decided to focus on the fey creature, and eventually killed the beast. The grays, however, were not deterred, howling for blood. Whatever blood lust the fey wolf had was obviously given to the natural wolves now.

The two wolves who were still paired together surrounded Quinn and repeatedly tripped him to maul his face, forcing the others to abandon the fey wolf's paired wolf and come to the man's aid. A few prayers from Tordek and he was up again, and they managed to drop one of them, then its pair. With all its companions dead, the last remaining wolf howled, and ran. Although Alandra tried to drop it, she couldn't kill the creature before it slipped between the trees and disappeared into the forest from where it came.

Tired, the PCs bedded down to sleep. They would have to move further into the forest the next day, hopefully finding the next sign on their journey before another incident like tonight occurred.

 

[Son_of_Thunder]

I like it a lot. I'm looking forward to some more. I love reading about individuals home brews.

 

[ThirdWizard]

It was only another day of travel before they found the the rock formation shaped like a dragon's claw. It stood out in stark contrast to the surrounding area, the dim light of evening giving it a sinister air. Laying out their heavy blankets, they saw the first few snowflakes of the winter coming down as Alandra began the first watch. By morning the entire area was covered in white powdery snow, the cold of winter setting in around them.

Going was rough through the dense forest, even with a skilled ranger guiding them through the underbrush. While they knew they needed to proceed North, the clouds and canopy above made it difficult to use the sun as a guide. The first day on the trail they made good time, by by the second, they were off course enough that they decided to backtrack and try to get back on the path again. After two more days of travel, they were lost, the thick forest around them giving them an unnerving sensation of being in a labyrinth.

About midday, they happened upon a small moss covered stone shrine to Avandra, goddess of travelers, frontier, and adventurers. Her shrines litter the world, set by her followers everywhere as guideposts and safe spots for resting - even a bandit will not attack someone resting near a shrine to Avandra, breaking that taboo would surely mean losing her favor forever. But, finding the shrine was a stroke of luck in their favor, perhaps divine by accounts of Tordek, who worshiped the goddess.

They rested there that night, Tordek praying over the shrine for them to find their way. The next morning, refreshed, they set out again, this time easily discerning the path they needed to take and making good time, even compared to their first day coming from the creek. And, after a day's journey northward, they spotted the top of a white tower reaching over the trees, reaching Caelynnasidhe's home as the sun began to set.

OOC:[sblock]This was a skill challenge. The PCs had to get 6 successes before 3 failures. It was mostly Nature checks to keep going through the forest, but I added two things. First was the ability to, once, backtrack to drop one failure and one success, essentially putting them back a couple of days. The second was the chance to happen upon the shrine and thus be able to use a Religion check to gain a substantial bonus on the next day's Nature check. They put both of these to use and they finally succeeded.

Had they failed, they would have run across another encounter, a traveling group of fey going through the woods. That encounter would prove very dangerous because it wouldn't have looked dangerous to them initially. I'm running the fey under some rules I borrowed (read: stole) from The Dresden Files. 1) Fey cannot lie (don't take this to mean you should believe everything they say!) and 2) Any favor done by a fey toward a moral must be repaid and vice versa. Any food the PCs had eaten, any supplies they had gained, any information gleaned would have meant the fey basically owned the PC for all intents and purposes. The PCs know this, the trick is remembering it when it is very tempting to take what they can get.

Anyway, they succeeded (barely!) and didn't have to deal with the dangerous fey encounter.[/sblock]
It was a structure that would stand out in any city they had ever been to, and amidst the forest under the red sun, it was amazing. It's white marble frame rose three stories from the ground, a second tower on the second, much smaller, perhaps onlly eight feet across, rose another four stories. It's front door was made of some black metal that stood in stark contrast with the rest of the building, and no windows were visible anywhere.

Approaching the door, the PCs used the large knocker affixed to the door, made of the same metal. It was extravagant, merely a loop hanging from the door. There were no carvings, no insets pictured. The white marble of the tower looked like a solid piece of stone. The only things on the door being the knocker and a doorknob with a small keyhole. After the second knock, the door opened, a tall woman, obviously eladrin, her eyes silver and her hair a light blue, her skin fair, smiling at them in welcome.

"Guests..." she said, "Please come in. It has been some time." Stepping back to allow them entrance, she added, "I have food, drink, please make yourselves at home while I prepare something for you." The entrance chamber was well furnished, couches, pillows, and other finery looked inviting, although there was no fireplace to warm themselves by. "I will return shortly."

The PCs made themselves at home as she had suggested, wondering why a hermit such as herself would have such an area for guests. Perhaps this would not be so difficult after all.

Of course, nothing is ever so simple for adventurers.

 

[Caldarion]

This is great stuff. I'm finding myself disappointed when there is nothing new to read, so I was happy to see this update. Good job guys!!