[Adventure] Rage of the Savage Lands (DM: Dekana, Judge: TwoHeadsBarking)

[Velmont]

"We could probably... I would still burn the part within a forge. I prefer to be paranoid than see that creature come back to life."

 

[stonegod]

Damen appears at the doorway behind the group, all smiles. Burn it, break it, dump it in the ocean. Try not to fret over it. I say we get your friend, get paid, and end this sunny vacation.

OOC: Just some fun with Shadow Stride to get to his new position.

 

[Dekana]

And, assuming there is time before the others arrive, Scarmiglione tells this story, both for the benefit of the guards and for those of his companions who had never fought the Avatar before.

The nameless dwarf calls for a recruit and instructs him to stoke the fires in the smithy, conveniently in a basement level of the keep. He then listens intently to Scarm's story, interrupting him periodically with his amazement, shock, and disbelief.

Eventually the forge is ready, so the dwarf brings everyone to the basement. A gray-haired man with a heavy apron stands by the forge. The fire burns intensely, causing you to sweat almost as soon as you enter the room. At the aproned man's instruction, Jarel-karn places the cursed sword in the furnace. It slowly begins to melt before the party's eyes. Nothing extraordinary can be seen, but everyone present feels a slight headache come on, as if it is the death cry of the sword's magic.

As the guards dispatched to the temple have not returned yet, the heroes heads over to check on their progress. Happily, Yishim, Toeto, Dieter, and the guards are all exiting the temple just as the party arrives. Toeto is quiet and reserved as usual, and the priest Dieter has a large lump on the back of his head. Neither them are acting particularly insane.

Dieter is the first to speak. "Nice to see you all again, alive and not insane. Corporal Bain here has just been telling me what happened. Apparently, I succumbed to the plague, but your mage friend was 'kind' enough to knock me out before I could hurt anyone in my madness." Dieter rubs the lump on his head, obviously still in discomfort.

Toeto's perpetual reptilian grin is a little more pronounced than usual. "It's like I've been ah... asleep f-for days. I d-don't know what c-cure you found, but we need to g-get it my tribe soon. If... if you still have it, yes?

 

[Mewness]

"Toeto, my dear!" Scarmiglione exclaims delightedly. "What a pleasure to see you well again. It turned out not to be a real disease after all; hard to believe, but the entire affliction was caused by our old friend the Avatar of Ravens! I don't entirely understand how it was--she did it through a cursed sword--no doubt someone with more magical knowledge could explain it more precisely, but that would be insufferably tedious, wouldn't it? I can't abide complicated explanations of arcane mumbo-jumbo. At any rate your people should be back to normal again. The Avatar's influence is gone from this region, at least."

 

[H.M.Gimlord]

"Ah betcha she's followin' us. Lahk we got sumthin' o' huhs." Eithal sighs. "Ah'm jus' glayad i's ovah...Fowah nayow ayat least," Eithal stoops down to hug Toeto, "Eyit's good tah see yew all bayetah, Toto. We was all worrih'd 'bout yew."

 

[stonegod]

Damen shrugs at all the affection being thrown around. Yes, good wins again, and so on. However, I believe we were getting paid?

 

[Luinnar]

Damen shrugs at all the affection being thrown around. Yes, good wins again, and so on. However, I believe we were getting paid?

Humph! Beatrice says, putting her hands on her hips and giving Damen a stern look

Glad you are safe Toeto she says kindly patting the lizardwomen on the head. I'm glad we were able to save those poor lizards too she says eying Eithal in case she went "berserk" again and started attacking the poor lizardfolk.

 

[Dekana]

Dieter interrupts Scarm. "A magical disease tied to an object? Nonsense! It's just like wizard to always assume the magical explanation."

"Tying a disease to an object? How pr-profane" says Toeto, ignoring the priest. "You're s-sure it was that raven lady? But the plague started here before I even met her."

Toeto looks to Damen, having forgotten for the moment that she was in the presence of several mercenaries. "R-right, your pay. Let's get back to my tribe and make s-sure everyone is s-safe. Whatever treasure we have is yours."

OOC: I'll wrap things up tomorrow.

 

[Velmont]

"Not exactly... I think more the sword was a kind of channel for the Lady of Raven, or maybe part of her soul was bound to the sword. And it is her that unleashed the plague. By vanquishing her and destroying the sword, we broke that bound between our world and her and the magical plague had no more power source. I might be wrong but it's how I see it." explains Jarel-karn

 

[Dekana]

Yishim voices his agreement with Jarel-karn's assessment, but Toeto knows little about such matters. In any case, she's just happy that the plague has been cured, however it was done.

The party spends the remainder of the day resting after such a brutal fight. In that time, the guards re-open the poor quarter of the city. There are a good deal of bodies lying in the streets, which is a very sorry sight for anyone who sees it. Even more people wander around the district with tattered cloths, still in a state of shock from the sudden relief of their madness.

The guards are rather disorganized after the death of Vahl. It's not at all clear who is in command; Vahl liked to micromanage her troops, and her authority was unquestioned. At the least, they clean up the fortress and give the Commandant a proper burial at sea. Others, hearing the cries of grief from the poor quarter, make patrols there without orders as they look for any way to help.

For the next two days, Toeto leads the party back to her tribe in the swamp. The lizardfolk have indeed returned to their normal forms. Not a raven in sight. The lizardfolk immediately ready their longspears upon seeing the softskin heroes in their swamp, but Toeto and the priestess, Sliska, calm them down before any violence breaks at.

The situation at the tribe is not so dire as in town; the lizardfolk have already organized themselves into some sort of hierarchy. Priestess Sliska has assumed leadership of the tribe, the old Chieftain having been killed in the final wave of madness that struck the village. Still, there are several new graves in the town.

Toeto recounts her deal with the heroes to Sliska. The priestess considers it a fair bargain - the life of the village in exchange for its treasure. Sliska orders a hidden cache of buried treasure be unearthed, and the party is soon confronted with a huge, heavy chest full of gold, gems, and other plunder (likely taken from Cay Harbor in the lizardfolk raids).

"I... I don't think I'm cut out for this," Toeto explains as the heroes collect their treasure. "I'm so, s... so nervous, when fighting with you all. I'm so af-fraid that I'll do s-something wrong, and, and..." She sighs and tries to start over. "What I mean is, I've decided to stay here. Now that e-everyone is back to n-normal, I don't need to fight anymore. I don't want to."

After the party finishes gathering their treasure and saying their goodbyes, they can return to Cay Harbor at their leisure and find a ship ride back to Daunton.

GM: Thanks for playing in Rage of the Savage Lands, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the game, despite my poor balancing of encounters and my long delays in posting. The gold reward from the lizardfolk is 4050 gp, which I'll assume you split evenly. 4050 / 5 = 810. Also, you each pick out gems and other plunder worth an amount equal to your time gold. Rewards Beatrice: 5801 XP, 6048 gp Damen: 6551 XP, 7812 gp Eithal: 5801 XP, 6048 gp, Magic Earthhide Armor +3 (this can be plate if you prefer; your sheet mentions Battleforged plate armor) Jarel-karn: 6800 XP, 10212 gp, Drowmesh of Aegis Expansion +3, Scarm: 5801 XP, 6048 gp --- Yishim: 292 XP, 633 gp (left gracefully a half a month after the last set of rewards) And 6 DM credits for myself. [MENTION=82251]TwoHeadsBarking[/MENTION], would you kindly approve these rewards?

[sblock=rewards calculations]Gold
3800gp (parcels 6, 8, 9, 10), 1250 gp for a major and a minor quest reward at level 10.

Encounter XP
Vahl fight: 3400 / 5 PCs = 680 each
Avatar fight: (4700 - 1600) = 3100 / 5 PCs = 620 each
Major quest - Save Toeto's Tribe: 2500 / 5 PCs = 500 each
Minor quest - Didn't Kill My PC / Your Client: 500 / 5 PCs = 100 each
Subtotal: 1900 XP x 2 = 3800 XP

Time XP & Gold
Another 3 months. March 1 - May 31.
Beatrice: level 9, 667 x 3 = 2001. Gold: 1746 x 3 = 5238.
Damen: level 10, 917 x 3 = 2751. Gold: 2334 x 3 = 7002.
Eithal: level 9, 667 x 3 = 2001. Gold: 1746 x 3 = 5238.
Jarel-karn: level 11, 1000 x 3 = 3000. Gold: 3134 x 3 = 9402.
Scarm: level 9, 667 x 3 = 2001. Gold: 1746 x 3 = 5238.
---
Yishim: level 8, 584 x .5 = 292. Gold: 1266 x .5 = 633[/sblock]