From the Ashes (Updated 11/04/2008)
ThirdWizard
First Post
Chalk that up mostly to the group being mostly new to each other. Thus, we're mostly in the learning to work together and help each other out stage and glossing over what the individuals are doing. I expect that to change as time goes on and everyone meshes together. There's also the fact that its a brand new campaign setting, so when they start exploring and getting used to things, I imagine it will change as well.
I also find it difficult to do dialog. I suppose I could paraphrase what was said in game, but somehow it seems wrong of me to do so. I know it would read better, so I'll ask my group for their thoughts on the matter at the next game (next weekend) and see if they care.
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ThirdWizard
First Post
Caelynnasidhe was true to her word and offered them her hospitality. They ate dinner, mostly in silence. It wasn't until they were through with their meal that they asked the eladrin for aid. She did not recognize the book, its leather bound cover completely absent any marks, designs, or words that might shed some identity on its purpose. However, the creature in the summoning circle did sound familiar, though she would have to do some research. The information would not come freely, though, and she told them that she would require a favor from them. They would need to go somewhere and complete a task for her.
The PCs were very annoyed when she would not tell them where to go or what task she needed done. She did admit that she could see their point, but she would not comment on the particulars behind her reasoning. There was something, though, a Warder Gael, an eladrin who guarded the lands further to the West, deeper into the fey territories where mortals were forbidden from entering entirely. A route to the Feywild, a deepening of the forest which existed in both places simultaneously and travelers could move between both lands with only the power of their feet underneath them.
She said that he could help them. However, his purpose would be to stop them from entering the fey's domain. And he would consider them interlopers, trespassers to be dealt with by the ancient laws of the eladrin - put to death. The adventurers would need to capture him alive, and only then would he be honor bound to help those who subdued and caught him, one favor which they could force upon him through the rules that the creatures of the Feywild, even eladrin who are connected to that place more than the World of mortals, had to follow.
Again the PCs were perturbed. This was not what they had signed up for. But, the creature was gone to who knows where and they wanted to know what was in the book they had found in those dark mines. They agreed to her terms, noting at any point they could turn away and take the tome with them. Thus, in the morning, they set out into the forest once again, headed West into the deeper, darker, and more constricting areas of Kelbrook Forest. Going was difficult, but it wasn't much more than two days' journey before they found Warder Gael. Or more precisely before they were ambushed by him.
He was tall, silver haired, with dark gray eyes and wearing light blue loose fitting clothing. He was also shooting arrows at them from a tree branch, and three gray wolves surrounded and attacked in the ambush along with him when they crossed paths. And he was not looking to talk. So they responded in kind. Alandra fired off shots at him while the others engaged the wolves. Their previous encounter with the animals had given them a healthy respect for the predators, and the group didn't pull any punches.
Alandra and Gael traded multiple arrow shots before he was hit and knocked from the tree onto the ground, somersaulting as he fell, and landing on his hands and knees. He immediately pulled out two long swords which frosted over as he engaged Quinn in melee combat. Korvun and Tordek finished off one of the wolves, and Alandra another. Alandra then turned to Gael while Korvun and Tordek moved to the final wolf, Quinn barely holding up against the Warder's onslaught. He almost went down, but manged to pull himself back through nothing but his own willpower, and when the final wolf was down, he and Alandra had incapacitated the eladrin.
Tying up their target, they rested, bandaging their wounds and wondering just what they were getting themselves into. They had just assaulted some kind of guardian of the forest, and now they were going to do what? Force him to take them somewhere? They didn't even know why they were doing it, what they would do when they got there, or really what to ask the guy when he woke up. This deal was looking worse and worse as time went on, but now they felt in too deep to stop. They had him, after all, and they might as well see where this job took them.
It was his chuckling that alerted him that he had awoken...
The PCs were very annoyed when she would not tell them where to go or what task she needed done. She did admit that she could see their point, but she would not comment on the particulars behind her reasoning. There was something, though, a Warder Gael, an eladrin who guarded the lands further to the West, deeper into the fey territories where mortals were forbidden from entering entirely. A route to the Feywild, a deepening of the forest which existed in both places simultaneously and travelers could move between both lands with only the power of their feet underneath them.
She said that he could help them. However, his purpose would be to stop them from entering the fey's domain. And he would consider them interlopers, trespassers to be dealt with by the ancient laws of the eladrin - put to death. The adventurers would need to capture him alive, and only then would he be honor bound to help those who subdued and caught him, one favor which they could force upon him through the rules that the creatures of the Feywild, even eladrin who are connected to that place more than the World of mortals, had to follow.
Again the PCs were perturbed. This was not what they had signed up for. But, the creature was gone to who knows where and they wanted to know what was in the book they had found in those dark mines. They agreed to her terms, noting at any point they could turn away and take the tome with them. Thus, in the morning, they set out into the forest once again, headed West into the deeper, darker, and more constricting areas of Kelbrook Forest. Going was difficult, but it wasn't much more than two days' journey before they found Warder Gael. Or more precisely before they were ambushed by him.
He was tall, silver haired, with dark gray eyes and wearing light blue loose fitting clothing. He was also shooting arrows at them from a tree branch, and three gray wolves surrounded and attacked in the ambush along with him when they crossed paths. And he was not looking to talk. So they responded in kind. Alandra fired off shots at him while the others engaged the wolves. Their previous encounter with the animals had given them a healthy respect for the predators, and the group didn't pull any punches.
Alandra and Gael traded multiple arrow shots before he was hit and knocked from the tree onto the ground, somersaulting as he fell, and landing on his hands and knees. He immediately pulled out two long swords which frosted over as he engaged Quinn in melee combat. Korvun and Tordek finished off one of the wolves, and Alandra another. Alandra then turned to Gael while Korvun and Tordek moved to the final wolf, Quinn barely holding up against the Warder's onslaught. He almost went down, but manged to pull himself back through nothing but his own willpower, and when the final wolf was down, he and Alandra had incapacitated the eladrin.
Tying up their target, they rested, bandaging their wounds and wondering just what they were getting themselves into. They had just assaulted some kind of guardian of the forest, and now they were going to do what? Force him to take them somewhere? They didn't even know why they were doing it, what they would do when they got there, or really what to ask the guy when he woke up. This deal was looking worse and worse as time went on, but now they felt in too deep to stop. They had him, after all, and they might as well see where this job took them.
It was his chuckling that alerted him that he had awoken...
NorwegianBadger
First Post
I'm now a subscriber! I really like this Story Hour, especially the OOC content, it makes the story alive. Keep up the good work.
ThirdWizard
First Post
Korvun and Tordek confronted the smiling eladrin warrior. He didn't look afraid, but fey expressions could be difficult to read - he could easily have been bluffing them. His mouth may have upturned in a smile, but it had none of the happiness behind it. His eyes were as cold as the snow around them.
"You don't know what you're dealing with." He said.
The depressing part was that he was right, and they knew it. But, really, that was part of what they did every day, so they pressed him. They had captured him, and by the laws of his people, he was indebted to them for his life, owing them one favor. His swords were quite tempting, the air that touched them freezing over due to some enchantment. They could ask for that... but then they wouldn't be able to run this perfectly fine wild goose chase.
Grumbling, they told him their plight, that Caelynnasidhe sent them after him and that he was to take them somewhere. Dawning realization came to his face, a darker look, but he didn't let up his twisted smile. As he was bound to do, he led them through the forest, deeper within its boundaries. It was difficult travel, but they arrived at their apparent destination in little more than a few hours. Korvun took the eladrin at his word and released him, though they were sure he would turn on them again later. They would try to be quick about their business and get back to the tower quickly, before he could get any aid and hunt them down.
Into the cave they went, Tordek carrying a sunrod for them to see in the dark cave. It was cold - colder than the winter air around them outside, and the further they went in, the colder it became. Holes perforated the walls all around them, up the ceiling, marking perhaps several thousand small tunnels around the main tunnel.
They had gone perhaps 300 yards deep into the descending cave when they heard clicking noises behind them. Turning they saw two scorpions, as big as a man and a light tint of blue chitin covering their bodies, emerging from the small holes in the walls. The clicking came from the other side right after, and three more scorpions emerged bearing down upon the adventurers from the other side.
Quinn and Korvun engaged two of the scorpions, trying to keep them away from the others, but it was to no avail, there were simply too many of them. Tordek faced off against one of them himself, trusting his dwarven resilience to protect him from the worst of their poison, while Alandra tried to get away but failed, being grabbed by one of their giant pinchers, its cold grip keeping her from retreating to fire her bow against the attackers.
Korvun was having a hard time of his own, being grabbed and poisoned almost immediately, the poison coursing through his veins cold, keeping him from moving from his spot. He swung repeatedly on the creature, but it would not let up. Quinn with his longer reach fared somewhat better, but was soon also grabbed by a giant claw, a second scorpion jumping on him, repeatedly raking him and stinging.
Quinn, however, managed to overcome the poison long enough to move into a position where he could use his reach to attack multiple scorpions, and after dropping one of the monsters attacking him, moved to help Alandra rid herself of the scorpion menacing her. She had put away her bow, useless as such short range against her attacker, in favor of a longsword which she swung with far less proficiency.
The scorpion eventually went down, along with the second one on Quinn. Tordek was having some trouble with his scorpion, but not as much as Korvun, slowly succumbing to the venom being injected into him repeatedly as the creature held him in place. Turning their attention to the single monster, Quinn, Alandra, and Korvun were able to drop it when Tordek finally finished off the one which had been on him through the battle. Korvun falling to his knees, the others administered aid to both he and Alandra who were still under the effects of the poison. Eventually, overcoming it, they rested for a good five minutes before continuing on in the cave.
OOC:
[sblock]
This was a really hard fight for them. Quinn and Korvun both almost fell and because of the scorpions' claw grab and immobilization poison, along with being surrounded, they couldn't focus fire on any one scorpion. Quinn's reach proved to be very helpful.
For the scorpions, I used Stormclaw Scorpions substituting cold for lightning damage. The cold theme worked quite well with the immobilization fitting thematically. Also, Reactive Sting is nasty!
[/sblock]
"You don't know what you're dealing with." He said.
The depressing part was that he was right, and they knew it. But, really, that was part of what they did every day, so they pressed him. They had captured him, and by the laws of his people, he was indebted to them for his life, owing them one favor. His swords were quite tempting, the air that touched them freezing over due to some enchantment. They could ask for that... but then they wouldn't be able to run this perfectly fine wild goose chase.
Grumbling, they told him their plight, that Caelynnasidhe sent them after him and that he was to take them somewhere. Dawning realization came to his face, a darker look, but he didn't let up his twisted smile. As he was bound to do, he led them through the forest, deeper within its boundaries. It was difficult travel, but they arrived at their apparent destination in little more than a few hours. Korvun took the eladrin at his word and released him, though they were sure he would turn on them again later. They would try to be quick about their business and get back to the tower quickly, before he could get any aid and hunt them down.
Into the cave they went, Tordek carrying a sunrod for them to see in the dark cave. It was cold - colder than the winter air around them outside, and the further they went in, the colder it became. Holes perforated the walls all around them, up the ceiling, marking perhaps several thousand small tunnels around the main tunnel.
They had gone perhaps 300 yards deep into the descending cave when they heard clicking noises behind them. Turning they saw two scorpions, as big as a man and a light tint of blue chitin covering their bodies, emerging from the small holes in the walls. The clicking came from the other side right after, and three more scorpions emerged bearing down upon the adventurers from the other side.
Quinn and Korvun engaged two of the scorpions, trying to keep them away from the others, but it was to no avail, there were simply too many of them. Tordek faced off against one of them himself, trusting his dwarven resilience to protect him from the worst of their poison, while Alandra tried to get away but failed, being grabbed by one of their giant pinchers, its cold grip keeping her from retreating to fire her bow against the attackers.
Korvun was having a hard time of his own, being grabbed and poisoned almost immediately, the poison coursing through his veins cold, keeping him from moving from his spot. He swung repeatedly on the creature, but it would not let up. Quinn with his longer reach fared somewhat better, but was soon also grabbed by a giant claw, a second scorpion jumping on him, repeatedly raking him and stinging.
Quinn, however, managed to overcome the poison long enough to move into a position where he could use his reach to attack multiple scorpions, and after dropping one of the monsters attacking him, moved to help Alandra rid herself of the scorpion menacing her. She had put away her bow, useless as such short range against her attacker, in favor of a longsword which she swung with far less proficiency.
The scorpion eventually went down, along with the second one on Quinn. Tordek was having some trouble with his scorpion, but not as much as Korvun, slowly succumbing to the venom being injected into him repeatedly as the creature held him in place. Turning their attention to the single monster, Quinn, Alandra, and Korvun were able to drop it when Tordek finally finished off the one which had been on him through the battle. Korvun falling to his knees, the others administered aid to both he and Alandra who were still under the effects of the poison. Eventually, overcoming it, they rested for a good five minutes before continuing on in the cave.
OOC:
[sblock]
This was a really hard fight for them. Quinn and Korvun both almost fell and because of the scorpions' claw grab and immobilization poison, along with being surrounded, they couldn't focus fire on any one scorpion. Quinn's reach proved to be very helpful.
For the scorpions, I used Stormclaw Scorpions substituting cold for lightning damage. The cold theme worked quite well with the immobilization fitting thematically. Also, Reactive Sting is nasty!
[/sblock]
ThirdWizard
First Post
ThirdWizard
First Post
Pressing onward, the group was getting nervous with all the holes in the walls. There appeared to be dozens of them every few feet, enough for several armies of those scorpions to jump out at them. And, they still weren't sure why they were here. Was the whole thing a setup? Maybe Caelynnasidhe and Gael were in it together. They decided not to think about it to much, they didn't need the distraction, choosing to focus on the task at hand.
That's when they noticed the ice crystals forming on the walls. It was a slow transformation, but as they proceeded down the tunnel, the crystals grew larger and larger until the entire wall and ceiling were several feet of ice, the air freezing around them, far more than winter's temperature outside.
This was definitely unnatural. Icicles drooped from the ceiling, closer to stalactites than frozen dripping water. Occasionally, they connected to the floor, like large cave formations. In the walls, they thought they could sometimes make out humanoid shapes. The frozen floor was chipped, chiseled, and broken in most places so that walking wasn't difficult as long as they didn't break out into a run.
Then they saw a light ahead, and several figures crouched in wait. The recognized the goblin immediately. He was stepping toward them, pointing a crossbow and yelling in, what was to them, gibberish. In front of him were three drakes about the size of the goblin, two of them with wings, a third more muscled without. There was something odd, though. Tordek noticed this fact, but couldn't put his finger on it. Something was just not quite right.
The adventurers jumped into battle quickly and efficiently. Quinn and Korvun took up position in the front, guarding Alandra and Tordek behind them. Alandra took shot at the goblin and injured him, but then the winged drakes, spiretop drakes according to Korvun, flew in quickly, hitting Quinn and flying away again, leaving him unable to retaliate.
The bigger drake, a guard drake, charged forward at Korvun, biting and gnashing, his teeth catching the dragonborn unready and clamping down on his armor. The bite didn't pierce to his hide, but it hurt nonetheless, and it was harder to move his leg. He retaliated, striking at the beast. It tried to dodge, but too late, and his falchion hit the guard drake in a glancing blow, not enough to cut into it, but enough to make sure it felt it.
The goblin let out a bolt, directed at Korvun as well, trying to drop him quickly, and sank into one of his legs in a shallow wound. The dragonborn almost dropped to one knee, but pushed through the pain and kept his guard on the drake in front of him. Quinn didn't like where that was going and engaged the guard drake in front of Korvun, striking at it with his halberd. He struck it with the flat of the blade as it tried to use Korvun as cover unsuccessfully, but the beast was not deterred.
Alandra let loose another volley, this time at one of the spiretop drakes. They could jump in and out of melee quickly, so it was up to the ranged combatants to get them. The goblin would have to come next. One of them was heavily injured, and it called out some kind of throaty cry to the other, who stared down Alandra. It flew in, striking Quinn, then kept going, landing beside the archer. The other one attacked the man-at-arms as well before landing just behind the guardian drake. Quinn swore under his breath, trying to decide where he was needed most.
Tordek knew that Korvun couldn't hold out for long against the guard drake. He made a quick prayer to his goddess and holy light enveloped Korvun, easing his pain and putting the fight back in him. Almost at the same time, the dwarf opened his palm and shot out a ray of light at the spiretop drake menacing Alandra. It burned the creature, who yelped out, but otherwise stayed on the archer.
Again the guard drake attached Korvun, thrashing against his armor even harder than the last time, his teeth biting down on his arm. There was blood everywhere, and he could barely stand. The goblin fired another shot at him, and Korvun fell to the ground. The drake almost laughed.
Quinn decided that the guard drake needed to be stopped. It was injured from before, and he moved at it, striking the creature in the flank with his halberd, this time breaking the skin and leaving a deep gash in the monster's hide. It growled with rage. Meanwhile, the drake behind him with the others was attacking Alandra, but it had miscalculated (if drakes calculate) and the combined firepower of the cleric and ranger dropped it. Tordek said another prayer, and Korvun stood again, though still heavily injured.
Alandra turned her attention back on the goblin. It had been grazed by her first shot, but the second two hit hard, dropping the creature to the ground. At the same time, Korvun, who wasn't going to back off even if he was injured, and Quinn surrounded the guard drake and impaled it, ending its life. The spiretop drake was quickly dropped after that before it could escape into the tunnels around them.
The party almost immediately fell to the icey ground. With the adrenaline rush gone, the fatigue and injury caught up with them. It was several minutes before they could even consider moving on, and even then they gave it a few more. They weren't sure if they could last another battle like that. Whatever lay ahead in the cave was hopefully small, golden, and easily stackable. Yeah... right.
OOC:
[sblock]
This encounter was actually much longer. The guard drake was harsh! The spiretop drakes always made sure to do end their "spring attack" like attacks where one of them was close to the guard drake, so he was always doing 1d10+9 damage. That's a lot of damage! Korvun just could not keep up. He dropped about three times that battle and had to be healed by Tordek twice and himself once. Of course, the other creatures in the encouter weren't nearly as powerful in stand up fights and they went down fairly quickly afterward.
Overall, though, a very harsh combat. They were low on healing surges at this point. I think Korvun had one remaining. They seriously considered turning back, but decided it was best to press onward.
[/sblock]
That's when they noticed the ice crystals forming on the walls. It was a slow transformation, but as they proceeded down the tunnel, the crystals grew larger and larger until the entire wall and ceiling were several feet of ice, the air freezing around them, far more than winter's temperature outside.
This was definitely unnatural. Icicles drooped from the ceiling, closer to stalactites than frozen dripping water. Occasionally, they connected to the floor, like large cave formations. In the walls, they thought they could sometimes make out humanoid shapes. The frozen floor was chipped, chiseled, and broken in most places so that walking wasn't difficult as long as they didn't break out into a run.
Then they saw a light ahead, and several figures crouched in wait. The recognized the goblin immediately. He was stepping toward them, pointing a crossbow and yelling in, what was to them, gibberish. In front of him were three drakes about the size of the goblin, two of them with wings, a third more muscled without. There was something odd, though. Tordek noticed this fact, but couldn't put his finger on it. Something was just not quite right.
The adventurers jumped into battle quickly and efficiently. Quinn and Korvun took up position in the front, guarding Alandra and Tordek behind them. Alandra took shot at the goblin and injured him, but then the winged drakes, spiretop drakes according to Korvun, flew in quickly, hitting Quinn and flying away again, leaving him unable to retaliate.
The bigger drake, a guard drake, charged forward at Korvun, biting and gnashing, his teeth catching the dragonborn unready and clamping down on his armor. The bite didn't pierce to his hide, but it hurt nonetheless, and it was harder to move his leg. He retaliated, striking at the beast. It tried to dodge, but too late, and his falchion hit the guard drake in a glancing blow, not enough to cut into it, but enough to make sure it felt it.
The goblin let out a bolt, directed at Korvun as well, trying to drop him quickly, and sank into one of his legs in a shallow wound. The dragonborn almost dropped to one knee, but pushed through the pain and kept his guard on the drake in front of him. Quinn didn't like where that was going and engaged the guard drake in front of Korvun, striking at it with his halberd. He struck it with the flat of the blade as it tried to use Korvun as cover unsuccessfully, but the beast was not deterred.
Alandra let loose another volley, this time at one of the spiretop drakes. They could jump in and out of melee quickly, so it was up to the ranged combatants to get them. The goblin would have to come next. One of them was heavily injured, and it called out some kind of throaty cry to the other, who stared down Alandra. It flew in, striking Quinn, then kept going, landing beside the archer. The other one attacked the man-at-arms as well before landing just behind the guardian drake. Quinn swore under his breath, trying to decide where he was needed most.
Tordek knew that Korvun couldn't hold out for long against the guard drake. He made a quick prayer to his goddess and holy light enveloped Korvun, easing his pain and putting the fight back in him. Almost at the same time, the dwarf opened his palm and shot out a ray of light at the spiretop drake menacing Alandra. It burned the creature, who yelped out, but otherwise stayed on the archer.
Again the guard drake attached Korvun, thrashing against his armor even harder than the last time, his teeth biting down on his arm. There was blood everywhere, and he could barely stand. The goblin fired another shot at him, and Korvun fell to the ground. The drake almost laughed.
Quinn decided that the guard drake needed to be stopped. It was injured from before, and he moved at it, striking the creature in the flank with his halberd, this time breaking the skin and leaving a deep gash in the monster's hide. It growled with rage. Meanwhile, the drake behind him with the others was attacking Alandra, but it had miscalculated (if drakes calculate) and the combined firepower of the cleric and ranger dropped it. Tordek said another prayer, and Korvun stood again, though still heavily injured.
Alandra turned her attention back on the goblin. It had been grazed by her first shot, but the second two hit hard, dropping the creature to the ground. At the same time, Korvun, who wasn't going to back off even if he was injured, and Quinn surrounded the guard drake and impaled it, ending its life. The spiretop drake was quickly dropped after that before it could escape into the tunnels around them.
The party almost immediately fell to the icey ground. With the adrenaline rush gone, the fatigue and injury caught up with them. It was several minutes before they could even consider moving on, and even then they gave it a few more. They weren't sure if they could last another battle like that. Whatever lay ahead in the cave was hopefully small, golden, and easily stackable. Yeah... right.
OOC:
[sblock]
This encounter was actually much longer. The guard drake was harsh! The spiretop drakes always made sure to do end their "spring attack" like attacks where one of them was close to the guard drake, so he was always doing 1d10+9 damage. That's a lot of damage! Korvun just could not keep up. He dropped about three times that battle and had to be healed by Tordek twice and himself once. Of course, the other creatures in the encouter weren't nearly as powerful in stand up fights and they went down fairly quickly afterward.
Overall, though, a very harsh combat. They were low on healing surges at this point. I think Korvun had one remaining. They seriously considered turning back, but decided it was best to press onward.
[/sblock]
ThirdWizard
First Post
They kept moving, tired but focused on the task at hand. They hoped that there weren't many more dangers ahead, they didn't know how much fight they had left in them. As they kept going, the air got colder and colder, the freezing air forming ice flakes on Tordek's beard. Soon they would have to turn back if only because they would freeze to death otherwise.
Rounding a corner, however, they were met with a light in the distance, and in the center of the room ahead rested a large blue globe upon a pillar about three feet off the ground. Beside it was a goblin, mean looking with a rune carved staff and scowling at them, commanding two guard drakes. The PCs moved forward to fight, Alandra readying her bow, Quinn and Korvun moving forward, and Tordek staying close enough to heal.
Out from the shadows around them jumped two more goblins! These were holding crossbows with picks at their sides. They fired on the group, hitting Tordek and Korvun with their bolts before pulling out picks and readying for melee. The goblin the the back looked to be some kind of spellcaster, waving around his staff, and Alandra decided to fire two arrow shots at him. Both hit their mark - one in his gut and the other in his chest. Without fanfare, he fell to the ground before his fight even started.
The guard drakes were not so kind, charging forward to Quinn and hitting him hard, staggering him. They knew the goblins were coming in soon, probably to flank with the drakes, so Korvun did the best he could to interpose himself, while Tordek moved to a safer position and Alandra stayed back to keep firing on the goblins.
Quinn retaliated against the drakes, trying to move away as best he could. The goblins did indeed move to flank, and Korvun layed into one as best he could. Alandra dropped two more arrows at the goblins, injuring one gravely while the guard drakes continued to pound on Quinn, almost dropping him. Tordek was able to save Quinn from a grizzly end while blasting one of the drakes with a beam of light.
The sounds of the battle echoed against the ice walls, the adventurers holding their own, but having trouble. Focus firing on the guard drakes, they were able to drop one, then the other, but not before Quinn went down, half unconscious and unable to fight or even walk. Without the guard drakes, the goblins were not nearly as dangerous, and they were quickly finished off. Shortly after, Quinn was back on his feet, injured but pulling himself by his own bootstraps.
A tunnel continued onward - deeper, darker.
But in front of them was something magical. The orb sitting on the pedistal was cold, they could feel it just by going near it. It was like a sphere of blue ice that froze the world around it. Korvun was the first to take action, touching it with his fingertip. It was cold, but not dangerous to touch. They contemplated their situation. Korvun, trained a bit in the arcane arts, reached forward to the item with his senses, trying to learn something. He detected Cold magic and a Illusionary magic.
They couldn't move forward and expect to live. Perhaps all they needed was this magic item. They decided: they couldn't move on, so they would take this and hope that is what the eladrin wanted.
Removing the sphere, they noticed a slight change in perception. The Illusion magic perhaps? Looking at their slain opponents, they realized if not why then at least what had transpired. There was a veil, an illusion cast over the "goblins" who were not goblins at all, but gnomes. They had just slaughtered a group of gnomes... but why? What was going on here? Was that Caelynnasidhe's plan?
Then they heard dripping noises. Questions would have to wait. As they stood there, the ice under their feet started to get more slippery, and they could feel the dripping of water on them like the drizzling of a light rain. They quickly realized the implications thereof. Korvun tried to put the orb back onto the pedestal, to return it to where it belonged, but it didn't help. They would have to make a run for it.
OOC:
[sblock]This was sort of an easter egg for my older players. Back in my previous Planescape campaign, they had traveled to the Plane of Fire in order to put down a group bent on taking over much of Sigil's Factions subvertly. The place was protected by a red orb that kept the fire at bay and the people inside alive.
Well, of course, they decided to pull the orb out and take it as their own. As soon as they did, fire started erupting through the entire place, an inferno. They tried to put it back and fix the problem, but it didn't work. Much to their dismay and loud complaining. They fled, the temperature rising and flames enveloping everything. Many opponents they would have fought were actually laying around charred. Heh.
So this was sort of an omoge to that. Except cold instead of fire.
[/sblock]
The adventurers ran like there was no tomorrow. The ones ahead tried to slow down, pulling their friends along. Korvun actually lifted up Tordek and carried him, which Tordek almost refused to do, but accepted so long as they never, ever spoke of it again. Pushing through, they sloshed, skidded, and slipped their way upward, barely, as the place came melting around them, flowing downward into the deeper portions of the cave they had not explored.
Finally, they made it beyond the ice, swimming now in the frigid water and pulling themselves up out of it onto dry land. Breathing deeply, they lay there, cold and tired. However, they got up and walked - knowing that they dare not stop to rest lest the cold take them. Slogging through the snow carrying the freezing orb, they finally arrived back at the tower of Caelynnasidhe practically on the verge of death.
OOC:
[sblock]
The escape was a skill challenge. Every PC had to use some skill to try and make their way out of the cavern. I gave them two choices, they could go for an easy check of 10 or a more difficult check of 15. The harder check allowed them to help out another PC, adding +2 to their check if they are at the same success level as the other PC (in other words, aren't ahead of or behind them). So the more hardy members could help the less so ones by taking on a harder DC.
The primary skills were Acrobatics, Athletics, and Endurance. Only one PC wasn't trained in any of these, Tordek. He was having such a hard time, Korvun's player decided enough of that, lifted him up, and started carrying him. On the fly, I said it would be difficult, and he would have to make two hard DCs to gain 1 success for both of them, otherwise neither of them make any distance. He accepted it, and rolled really freakin' well.
Instead of saying 4 successes before 2 failures, I went with 4 successes before 6 minutes (1 check per minute) in order to escape. Success would mean escaping, and Failure would mean that they were rescued by gnomes before being drowned. They would get a bit of information from the gnomes, but they would be slowed down so that Warder Gael would have time to find them again and they would have to have another combat, which at this point would be bad for them! Luckily for them, they all escaped on the last minute!
It was a lot of fun, and proved to be a great way to top off the end of the cave trek!
[/sblock]
Caelynnasidhe fed them warm food (from where, they weren't sure since they had not seen a fire or even chimney anywhere in or outside of the tower), and gave them blankets. She was very glad to receive the orb, and told them that the gnomes had once been her allies, forced to live under that veil so they could not be freed. And she was under oath not to speak of their plight. It was unfortunate what happened, but she hoped they would not push any further. So they didn't, and they left her the book they had found in the mines when they left for town to return in one month after she had time to research it.
The travel back to town was uneventful, thankfully, and they went back to their lives while they waited to return to her tower and learn the secrets of that strange shadow creature.
Rounding a corner, however, they were met with a light in the distance, and in the center of the room ahead rested a large blue globe upon a pillar about three feet off the ground. Beside it was a goblin, mean looking with a rune carved staff and scowling at them, commanding two guard drakes. The PCs moved forward to fight, Alandra readying her bow, Quinn and Korvun moving forward, and Tordek staying close enough to heal.
Out from the shadows around them jumped two more goblins! These were holding crossbows with picks at their sides. They fired on the group, hitting Tordek and Korvun with their bolts before pulling out picks and readying for melee. The goblin the the back looked to be some kind of spellcaster, waving around his staff, and Alandra decided to fire two arrow shots at him. Both hit their mark - one in his gut and the other in his chest. Without fanfare, he fell to the ground before his fight even started.
The guard drakes were not so kind, charging forward to Quinn and hitting him hard, staggering him. They knew the goblins were coming in soon, probably to flank with the drakes, so Korvun did the best he could to interpose himself, while Tordek moved to a safer position and Alandra stayed back to keep firing on the goblins.
Quinn retaliated against the drakes, trying to move away as best he could. The goblins did indeed move to flank, and Korvun layed into one as best he could. Alandra dropped two more arrows at the goblins, injuring one gravely while the guard drakes continued to pound on Quinn, almost dropping him. Tordek was able to save Quinn from a grizzly end while blasting one of the drakes with a beam of light.
The sounds of the battle echoed against the ice walls, the adventurers holding their own, but having trouble. Focus firing on the guard drakes, they were able to drop one, then the other, but not before Quinn went down, half unconscious and unable to fight or even walk. Without the guard drakes, the goblins were not nearly as dangerous, and they were quickly finished off. Shortly after, Quinn was back on his feet, injured but pulling himself by his own bootstraps.
A tunnel continued onward - deeper, darker.
But in front of them was something magical. The orb sitting on the pedistal was cold, they could feel it just by going near it. It was like a sphere of blue ice that froze the world around it. Korvun was the first to take action, touching it with his fingertip. It was cold, but not dangerous to touch. They contemplated their situation. Korvun, trained a bit in the arcane arts, reached forward to the item with his senses, trying to learn something. He detected Cold magic and a Illusionary magic.
They couldn't move forward and expect to live. Perhaps all they needed was this magic item. They decided: they couldn't move on, so they would take this and hope that is what the eladrin wanted.
Removing the sphere, they noticed a slight change in perception. The Illusion magic perhaps? Looking at their slain opponents, they realized if not why then at least what had transpired. There was a veil, an illusion cast over the "goblins" who were not goblins at all, but gnomes. They had just slaughtered a group of gnomes... but why? What was going on here? Was that Caelynnasidhe's plan?
Then they heard dripping noises. Questions would have to wait. As they stood there, the ice under their feet started to get more slippery, and they could feel the dripping of water on them like the drizzling of a light rain. They quickly realized the implications thereof. Korvun tried to put the orb back onto the pedestal, to return it to where it belonged, but it didn't help. They would have to make a run for it.
OOC:
[sblock]This was sort of an easter egg for my older players. Back in my previous Planescape campaign, they had traveled to the Plane of Fire in order to put down a group bent on taking over much of Sigil's Factions subvertly. The place was protected by a red orb that kept the fire at bay and the people inside alive.
Well, of course, they decided to pull the orb out and take it as their own. As soon as they did, fire started erupting through the entire place, an inferno. They tried to put it back and fix the problem, but it didn't work. Much to their dismay and loud complaining. They fled, the temperature rising and flames enveloping everything. Many opponents they would have fought were actually laying around charred. Heh.
So this was sort of an omoge to that. Except cold instead of fire.
[/sblock]
The adventurers ran like there was no tomorrow. The ones ahead tried to slow down, pulling their friends along. Korvun actually lifted up Tordek and carried him, which Tordek almost refused to do, but accepted so long as they never, ever spoke of it again. Pushing through, they sloshed, skidded, and slipped their way upward, barely, as the place came melting around them, flowing downward into the deeper portions of the cave they had not explored.
Finally, they made it beyond the ice, swimming now in the frigid water and pulling themselves up out of it onto dry land. Breathing deeply, they lay there, cold and tired. However, they got up and walked - knowing that they dare not stop to rest lest the cold take them. Slogging through the snow carrying the freezing orb, they finally arrived back at the tower of Caelynnasidhe practically on the verge of death.
OOC:
[sblock]
The escape was a skill challenge. Every PC had to use some skill to try and make their way out of the cavern. I gave them two choices, they could go for an easy check of 10 or a more difficult check of 15. The harder check allowed them to help out another PC, adding +2 to their check if they are at the same success level as the other PC (in other words, aren't ahead of or behind them). So the more hardy members could help the less so ones by taking on a harder DC.
The primary skills were Acrobatics, Athletics, and Endurance. Only one PC wasn't trained in any of these, Tordek. He was having such a hard time, Korvun's player decided enough of that, lifted him up, and started carrying him. On the fly, I said it would be difficult, and he would have to make two hard DCs to gain 1 success for both of them, otherwise neither of them make any distance. He accepted it, and rolled really freakin' well.
Instead of saying 4 successes before 2 failures, I went with 4 successes before 6 minutes (1 check per minute) in order to escape. Success would mean escaping, and Failure would mean that they were rescued by gnomes before being drowned. They would get a bit of information from the gnomes, but they would be slowed down so that Warder Gael would have time to find them again and they would have to have another combat, which at this point would be bad for them! Luckily for them, they all escaped on the last minute!
It was a lot of fun, and proved to be a great way to top off the end of the cave trek!
[/sblock]
Caelynnasidhe fed them warm food (from where, they weren't sure since they had not seen a fire or even chimney anywhere in or outside of the tower), and gave them blankets. She was very glad to receive the orb, and told them that the gnomes had once been her allies, forced to live under that veil so they could not be freed. And she was under oath not to speak of their plight. It was unfortunate what happened, but she hoped they would not push any further. So they didn't, and they left her the book they had found in the mines when they left for town to return in one month after she had time to research it.
The travel back to town was uneventful, thankfully, and they went back to their lives while they waited to return to her tower and learn the secrets of that strange shadow creature.
ThirdWizard
First Post
Session 3 - Rescue Gone Wrong
Now, waiting for the month to be out, the PCs went back to their individual tasks about the city and countryside. Korvun went back to the temple to Bahamut in Grethtown, helping however he could with odd jobs and continued his studies there. Tordek continued preaching the word of Avandra to anyone who would listen, focusing on the outskirts of the city. His small stone shrine attracted a few patrons of the goddess, and he enjoyed his work. Alandra worked as a guide, at the same time getting to know the local terrain better. Quinn worked with Rinthorp in order to strengthen their defenses, helping to organize their defense force.
Two weeks passed fairly uneventfully for them, each doing their own things, waiting for the month to pass so that they could return to the forest where Caelynnasidhe lived and learn what she could find about the book they had left with her and the monster they had seen trapped in the circle.
It was during this time that an old man named Christopher Kallis came into Grethtown, a man Quinn respected and worked for. Their town of Hent had fallen on rough times recently, the local mines had dried up and times were difficult on the people. Now Kallis was using all his inroads with the Greth Traders Guild and the nobility he had met in his travels to try and keep the small town alive as best he could. In fact, Quinn had ideas about how he could help, replacing its mining industry with military aid for the Denmount Coalition - all under the banners of Hent and Pelor.
To do this, he would need to proove the mettle of the group to those that mattered, which meant important jobs with high visibility to those in charge. And Kallis could help with that. In fact, he had something ready for them. Their group would need to meet with a local minor lord, Sir Owen Mallory, of Grethtown. Quinn assembled the group.
The guards outside the mansion let them in, giving the individuals hard looks as they entered, one guard escorting them through a long corridor to a greeting area, lavishly decorated with silks, silver and marble statuary, and colorful rugs and furniture. Awaiting them were three individuals: the elderly Christopher Kallis, a tall proud man who must have been Sir Mallory, and a girl who couldn't have been more than a teenager in commoner's clothing.
"Welcome!" Mallory said as they entered. "Kallis here speaks well of your group."
"Thank you. We heard you had a job, but that it was difficult and were having trouble finding people to help you."
"Yes..." The lord frowned. "My daughter has been taken by bandits, a group known as the Heathens. They feel shunned by gods and man alike. They're located in the Denmount Forest, attacking anyone who enters their "territory." He spat out this last word like a curse. "I wish someone to go and negotiate my daughter's release. Who knows what these beasts are capable of." He nodded to one of his assistants, who produced several jingling bags. "Five hundred gold for her. Any remaining you may keep as well as five hundred more for you upon success." He raised his chin, looking over each of them in turn.
None of the group was familiar with this band of bandits, bandit groups in the surrounding areas were as common as anthills, after all. Each group carved out a portion of the surrounding lands for themselves and fought against each other almost as much as they attacked passing merchants and other travelers. This group, as he described them, seemed less likely to take hostiges, however...
"Where in the forest was she taken?" Quinn asked.
"She was returning from King's Cross on King's Road on a mission from the temple of Bahamut almost a week ago. She was almost home when the group was attacked." A touch of anger strayed onto his face, but he suppressed it behind a veneer of nobility as expected. "Only a couple of people made it back to tell the tale... She was a mere ten miles from town."
The party's heart sank. A week? Odds of her being alive went down again.
Korvun nodded. A fellow follower of Bahamut. They would have to at least try.
Quinn spoke up again. "We'll leave in the morning."
The tall man breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. He looked to his subordinate, who gave them the bags of gold. Then he looked at the young woman who sat with them and had remained quiet up until then. "She wishes to accompany you." He turned and left without another word, the group being escorted out once again.
Once outside, they stopped to talk to Kallis.
Quinn spoke up. "This doesn't look good... these guys don't sound like they take a lot of prisoners. And a week? It won't take us long to get there, but..."
"As long as there is some hope... and either way he needs closure."
"He won't be happy if she's dead."
"No." Kallis responded flatly. Implied was that it would be more difficult to get onto his good side ever again if she were dead. "But if there is any chance..."
Quinn sighed. "That's that, I guess."
Kallis nodded.
Now, waiting for the month to be out, the PCs went back to their individual tasks about the city and countryside. Korvun went back to the temple to Bahamut in Grethtown, helping however he could with odd jobs and continued his studies there. Tordek continued preaching the word of Avandra to anyone who would listen, focusing on the outskirts of the city. His small stone shrine attracted a few patrons of the goddess, and he enjoyed his work. Alandra worked as a guide, at the same time getting to know the local terrain better. Quinn worked with Rinthorp in order to strengthen their defenses, helping to organize their defense force.
Two weeks passed fairly uneventfully for them, each doing their own things, waiting for the month to pass so that they could return to the forest where Caelynnasidhe lived and learn what she could find about the book they had left with her and the monster they had seen trapped in the circle.
It was during this time that an old man named Christopher Kallis came into Grethtown, a man Quinn respected and worked for. Their town of Hent had fallen on rough times recently, the local mines had dried up and times were difficult on the people. Now Kallis was using all his inroads with the Greth Traders Guild and the nobility he had met in his travels to try and keep the small town alive as best he could. In fact, Quinn had ideas about how he could help, replacing its mining industry with military aid for the Denmount Coalition - all under the banners of Hent and Pelor.
To do this, he would need to proove the mettle of the group to those that mattered, which meant important jobs with high visibility to those in charge. And Kallis could help with that. In fact, he had something ready for them. Their group would need to meet with a local minor lord, Sir Owen Mallory, of Grethtown. Quinn assembled the group.
The guards outside the mansion let them in, giving the individuals hard looks as they entered, one guard escorting them through a long corridor to a greeting area, lavishly decorated with silks, silver and marble statuary, and colorful rugs and furniture. Awaiting them were three individuals: the elderly Christopher Kallis, a tall proud man who must have been Sir Mallory, and a girl who couldn't have been more than a teenager in commoner's clothing.
"Welcome!" Mallory said as they entered. "Kallis here speaks well of your group."
"Thank you. We heard you had a job, but that it was difficult and were having trouble finding people to help you."
"Yes..." The lord frowned. "My daughter has been taken by bandits, a group known as the Heathens. They feel shunned by gods and man alike. They're located in the Denmount Forest, attacking anyone who enters their "territory." He spat out this last word like a curse. "I wish someone to go and negotiate my daughter's release. Who knows what these beasts are capable of." He nodded to one of his assistants, who produced several jingling bags. "Five hundred gold for her. Any remaining you may keep as well as five hundred more for you upon success." He raised his chin, looking over each of them in turn.
None of the group was familiar with this band of bandits, bandit groups in the surrounding areas were as common as anthills, after all. Each group carved out a portion of the surrounding lands for themselves and fought against each other almost as much as they attacked passing merchants and other travelers. This group, as he described them, seemed less likely to take hostiges, however...
"Where in the forest was she taken?" Quinn asked.
"She was returning from King's Cross on King's Road on a mission from the temple of Bahamut almost a week ago. She was almost home when the group was attacked." A touch of anger strayed onto his face, but he suppressed it behind a veneer of nobility as expected. "Only a couple of people made it back to tell the tale... She was a mere ten miles from town."
The party's heart sank. A week? Odds of her being alive went down again.
Korvun nodded. A fellow follower of Bahamut. They would have to at least try.
Quinn spoke up again. "We'll leave in the morning."
The tall man breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. He looked to his subordinate, who gave them the bags of gold. Then he looked at the young woman who sat with them and had remained quiet up until then. "She wishes to accompany you." He turned and left without another word, the group being escorted out once again.
Once outside, they stopped to talk to Kallis.
Quinn spoke up. "This doesn't look good... these guys don't sound like they take a lot of prisoners. And a week? It won't take us long to get there, but..."
"As long as there is some hope... and either way he needs closure."
"He won't be happy if she's dead."
"No." Kallis responded flatly. Implied was that it would be more difficult to get onto his good side ever again if she were dead. "But if there is any chance..."
Quinn sighed. "That's that, I guess."
Kallis nodded.
ThirdWizard
First Post
OOC:
[sblock]At this point in the game, we added a new party member, bringing the total PCs to 5, the 4e standard. She plays a human infernal pact warlock. The intro was done quickly and we didn't spend to much time on it. This was her first session ever of a P&P RPG, so I didn't want to put her on the spot starting out, so you'll notice its mostly glossed over here.[/sblock]
Setting out immediately, the PCs hit the road headed West through the Denmount Forest, accompanied by the newcomer who was in the meeting with them. A friend of the kidnapped girl, she was determined to rescue Sandra. Their information said that they didn't have far to go, less than a day's journey, in fact. They progressed unhindered until mid-afternoon when they arrived in what was probably the general area of the Heathen's territory. Plunging head first into the forest, they pushed onward into the woods. It wasn't as dark or dense as Kelbrook, so they had an easier time moving than their previous trip into wooded terrain.
It wasn't long before they found arrows pointed their way.
The Heathens were indeed in charge of this part of the forest, and they didn't take nicely to intruders, though the PCs' apparent battle readiness at least gave them pause. The Heathens kept their eyes on the PCs, but opened up with negotiations, albeit harsh ones.
"Leave, and we will spare your lives."
This, of course, never works on adventurers. They've just heard it too much. Do suchandsuch, and you may live. And, you can be sure that they have never in their lives done whatever was demanded of them unless it was so inconsequential as to make them thinking that slaughtering you right then and there just isn't worth their time. Why bandits and ruffians and all those like them even try this tactic is beyond the understanding of any adventurer. So, they kind of just shook their head and offered their own retort.
Bandits, on the other hand, as opposed to adventurers, don't like fights with armed opponents. In fact, they don't like fair fights at all. That's why they ambush people, after all. They hide in the forest, jump out at you, and hope you drop your gold while you're running away. Threats, generally speaking, work on them. Their leaders use threats to keep them under control. They stay away from civilization partly because the threat of authority figures killing them on sight. So, mostly, they would rather run away than fight.
So, when the small girl with them, who they probably wouldn't have thought much of a threat at first, started speaking and her voice literally sounded like it was being channeled through Hell's loudspeakers before emerging from her lips, to say they were a bit put off by this is an understatement. "Take us to your encampment and we won't kill you." That was Sapphire. The warlock.
And so, they did.
OOC:
[sblock]Okay so there was a whole skill challenge in there, but dang if the Infernal Pact Warlock using Beguiling Tongue to savage an Intimidate check wasn't hilarious to see in play.
In order to make sure everybody got some action in the challenge, and not just the people with B/D/I, I added Insight to determine what skills would be more effective, and I allowed Perception to be used to gauge the same thing when someone tried that check. So, since Diplomacy was the most difficult, they could use Perception to notice that it was a hard roll.
Failure would have meant a hard battle, but they successfully avoided it. Good for them! They would have had an even harder time ahead if it wasn't for some good skilling here.
Of course, the other check that had just as much influence on how the narrative played out as the warlock making bandits pee their pants was the jingling of bag fulls of money. One auto-success please! Bandits like money almost as much as they like not dying with their pants soiled. You can look it up![/sblock]
Arriving at the bandit encampment, they were escorted through ranks of Heathens, probably about twenty total in the camp plus their escort when they arrived, but many more tents. Probably about half their numbers were present, the other half patrolling their territory and waiting to ambush travelers.
The Heathen's leader met them outside the largest tent, a giant of a man, darkly tanned, with long black hair, somewhere in the age range of thirty to fifty. He was covered in scars from head to toe, and he carried a great axe at his side, leaning upon it as he stared them down. Despite the bravado surrounding him, Tordek noticed that he looked nervous somehow.
"I am Ferrus. You come willingly into the midst of my men. Why are you here, and what kind of beasts are you that you think you will escape?" His voice was strong, and meant mostly for the benefit of his men by the PCs' reckoning.
"We bring a random for a girl you took hostage," Quinn replied.
"Girl?" The big man laughed. "You'll have to be more specific. But, if you expect her alive, you have come here for nothing." He sneered at the group, his men in the surrounding campsite pulling out their weapons.
Quinn jingled his bag of gold, "She was taken about a week ago, a teenage girl who was traveling with a guard headed toward Grethtown." None of them missed the mounting anticipation from the surrounding bandits. "And she had best not be harmed."
"Perhaps I remember her, and perhaps I don't. But, you are not in a position to be making demands and offerings to me, in the middle of my own lands, surrounded by my men!" Then he paused a second, thinking.
Tordek was catching on on what was wrong with this situation. The bandit leader, Ferrus, seemed to be stalling. He looked around, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she was still alive somewhere here.
Quinn continued negotiations. "True. You could probably kill us. I don't doubt that we would be overwhelmed by your forces should you attack. But, how many men would you lose in the process? How many can you afford to lose for one girl? I offer you random, and you offer only shallow threats? These are the Heathens I've heard of?"
Ferrus stepped in closer. "You will not be undercutting me, boy. The girl might not be worth my men's lives, but my authority is." Then louder, he said for the benefit of his men, "This runt thinks he can scare us? Those who aren't even afraid of the gods themselves?" He smiled as he stepped away again. "I think you should show us your manners, boy."
This would have proven to be a good opportunity to work with Ferrus, secure whatever deal could be made, and get away. However, the negotiation was suddenly interrupted by high pitched sounds coming from the surrounding forest. A yip yip yip that couldn't be mistaken: the excited cries of kobolds attacking. Sling bullets, crossbow bolts, and flasks of alchemical fire flew from the trees at the bandits. A crowd of at least three dozen kobolds then came rushing from all sides, javelins, pikes, and swords at the ready.
And from above came a great roar as green beast flew overhead, its mouth spouting out a blast of poison air as it flew by some men on the outskirts of the camp, the men choking and falling to their knees. "Klykraxil..." Ferrus muttered. "He's betrayed us." The green dragon, as tall as a horse, but much wider and more heavily muscled flew by a few more men, biting their heads off, before settling down beside Ferrus and the PCs.
"Ferrus!" The dragon roared out the word. "The truce is done. Your offerings are no longer required." It reared its head back, making a choking sound, perhaps what passed for a laugh in dragon circles. It then looked at the PCs. "New guards? You shouldn't have. What tasty mortals they are. And they make such nice sounds when they move." It looked back to Ferrus. "You're done here."
With the last words, a reeking clinging vapor came pouring out of its mouth onto the people gathered around, weakening their legs and arms, and making it more difficult to see. Its attack was an onslaught of claws and fangs, and Ferrus managed to put the PCs between him and the attacking dragon.
The PCs tried to move apart as best they could, but oncoming kobolds meant that they couldn't move too far apart, lest one of the small creatures take advantage of them. They were in a catch-22 doing as best they could to avoid both attacks. The guards who had escorted them tried to hold off the kobolds while they fought the dragon, but they were being overwhelmed quickly.
Quinn and Korvun tried to get close to it, but it would hover and fly above them to try and land beside the weaker opponents and attack them, so they were caught in a game of cat and mouse with the large laughing beast. Alandra fired several arrows into it, and Sapphire's blasts seemed to annoy it, but every blow the dragon landed on them was like a landslide to their pebble-shooters. Tordek managed to keep their wounds closed while Korvun kept them standing regardless of injury, but that could only last so long.
It was then that Alandra noticed a robed figure emerging from a tent on the far side of the camp, pulling a girl in chains behind him. They made their way to leave the camp, the kobolds letting them through as he dragged her kicking and screaming behind him. They were too far away to try and stop... and they had their hands full. They might not survive to see sunset at this rate, much less save Sandra.
Finally, Korvun caught the monstrous Klykraxil between himself and Quinn, and together they were able to keep it from escaping. A few more strokes, and it was finding the whole battle much less fun. Everyone was on their last legs, but they were just starting to give him a run at a fight. Klykraxil then let loose a blast of poisonous gas again, this time catching many of the PCs, but not before Alandra and Sapphire hit him again with another flurry of hits against his chest.
The dragon, bleeding now, and starting to feel winded, pulled back, flying up into the air, but took another barrage of arrows, and Tordek hit him with a blast of light as Sapphire pelted him with fire. He could probably kill them, or at least most of them, but he was too smart for that. His time would come. "Fools! You have made a grave enemy this day coming here. You needn't have come to this runt's aid, but you have sealed your own fate. We will meet again." And with that he flew off. The battle around them, however, went on.
The PCs didn't want to stick around. The kobolds were overwhelming the bandits, who had mostly broken and were trying to flee. So, they did the only reasonable thing: they ran for it as well. Somehow, they made it out of the campsite and found the trail left by the escaping capturer and captive. Apparenlty he had met up with a group - of humans or the like it appeared - and headed North. They didn't waste time, they immediately legged it after.
OOC:
[sblock]Wow! This encounter was great. Level 2 PCs vs. a Level 5 dragon. Of course, I didn't want to use him to the death, he's a dragon after all, and even if he can take down a bunch of guys, he's not going to sacrifice himself to do so. He fought them until a little under bloodied before taking off. The battle was still harsh, and the PCs used up most (all?) of their dailies in the battle just to keep up.
Of course, afterward they found they had to keep moving if they wanted to save the girl. That meant that from here on out, the PCs didn't take an extended rest until she was safe. Which meant the adventure got really deadly since their major resources were used up at this point. And, there are still some hard ones to come!
I liked the old switch, and it worked out well in game. The players thought they were doing a skill challenge, maybe fight some bandits, and here comes a dragon flying onto the scene. Heh, scary.[/sblock]
They continued on through the night, following the tracks as best they could. The large number of people they were following, coupled with the fact that they were dragging the girl who was obviously not wanting to come along, meant that it was easy not to lose the trail. However, they were tired. They had taken a beating from the dragon, and if they kept going who knows what they would find ahead.
"We'll die." Alandra calmly told the others as they pushed onward.
"We have to save her. We have to do everything we can." Korvun wasn't so much worried about his own safety as what was going to happen if they didn't find her immediately. "They're probably going to sacrifice her to a dark god or something."
"Always with the dark gods," Quinn said.
"If we keep going, they'll just kill us."
"Perhaps," was Korvun's witty retort.
"We have to save her..." Tordek didn't sound completely resolute, but he wasn't going to leave her to the kidnappers.
"I agree we need to keep going," said Quinn.
"We'll die," repeated Alandra.
OOC:
[sblock]Paraphrased! But, yes, it wasn't a happy decision. And, when they almost all died later, Alandra's character was totally getting the "I told you so's" ready.[/sblock]
They headed through the woods into the morning, and a little after sun up, they found an old temple in the woods, with the trail leading right to it. The architecture was old, and it was covered in vines, but it was in surprisingly good shape. There were reliefs carved into the walls, perhaps some kind of history, fable, or other story about whatever faith had made this its home. There was only one way in that they could find after circling it, large double doors of sturdy wood, probably newly put in by the looks of it.
Preparing themselves for battle, they approached the front doors...
[sblock]At this point in the game, we added a new party member, bringing the total PCs to 5, the 4e standard. She plays a human infernal pact warlock. The intro was done quickly and we didn't spend to much time on it. This was her first session ever of a P&P RPG, so I didn't want to put her on the spot starting out, so you'll notice its mostly glossed over here.[/sblock]
Setting out immediately, the PCs hit the road headed West through the Denmount Forest, accompanied by the newcomer who was in the meeting with them. A friend of the kidnapped girl, she was determined to rescue Sandra. Their information said that they didn't have far to go, less than a day's journey, in fact. They progressed unhindered until mid-afternoon when they arrived in what was probably the general area of the Heathen's territory. Plunging head first into the forest, they pushed onward into the woods. It wasn't as dark or dense as Kelbrook, so they had an easier time moving than their previous trip into wooded terrain.
It wasn't long before they found arrows pointed their way.
The Heathens were indeed in charge of this part of the forest, and they didn't take nicely to intruders, though the PCs' apparent battle readiness at least gave them pause. The Heathens kept their eyes on the PCs, but opened up with negotiations, albeit harsh ones.
"Leave, and we will spare your lives."
This, of course, never works on adventurers. They've just heard it too much. Do suchandsuch, and you may live. And, you can be sure that they have never in their lives done whatever was demanded of them unless it was so inconsequential as to make them thinking that slaughtering you right then and there just isn't worth their time. Why bandits and ruffians and all those like them even try this tactic is beyond the understanding of any adventurer. So, they kind of just shook their head and offered their own retort.
Bandits, on the other hand, as opposed to adventurers, don't like fights with armed opponents. In fact, they don't like fair fights at all. That's why they ambush people, after all. They hide in the forest, jump out at you, and hope you drop your gold while you're running away. Threats, generally speaking, work on them. Their leaders use threats to keep them under control. They stay away from civilization partly because the threat of authority figures killing them on sight. So, mostly, they would rather run away than fight.
So, when the small girl with them, who they probably wouldn't have thought much of a threat at first, started speaking and her voice literally sounded like it was being channeled through Hell's loudspeakers before emerging from her lips, to say they were a bit put off by this is an understatement. "Take us to your encampment and we won't kill you." That was Sapphire. The warlock.
And so, they did.
OOC:
[sblock]Okay so there was a whole skill challenge in there, but dang if the Infernal Pact Warlock using Beguiling Tongue to savage an Intimidate check wasn't hilarious to see in play.
In order to make sure everybody got some action in the challenge, and not just the people with B/D/I, I added Insight to determine what skills would be more effective, and I allowed Perception to be used to gauge the same thing when someone tried that check. So, since Diplomacy was the most difficult, they could use Perception to notice that it was a hard roll.
Failure would have meant a hard battle, but they successfully avoided it. Good for them! They would have had an even harder time ahead if it wasn't for some good skilling here.
Of course, the other check that had just as much influence on how the narrative played out as the warlock making bandits pee their pants was the jingling of bag fulls of money. One auto-success please! Bandits like money almost as much as they like not dying with their pants soiled. You can look it up![/sblock]
Arriving at the bandit encampment, they were escorted through ranks of Heathens, probably about twenty total in the camp plus their escort when they arrived, but many more tents. Probably about half their numbers were present, the other half patrolling their territory and waiting to ambush travelers.
The Heathen's leader met them outside the largest tent, a giant of a man, darkly tanned, with long black hair, somewhere in the age range of thirty to fifty. He was covered in scars from head to toe, and he carried a great axe at his side, leaning upon it as he stared them down. Despite the bravado surrounding him, Tordek noticed that he looked nervous somehow.
"I am Ferrus. You come willingly into the midst of my men. Why are you here, and what kind of beasts are you that you think you will escape?" His voice was strong, and meant mostly for the benefit of his men by the PCs' reckoning.
"We bring a random for a girl you took hostage," Quinn replied.
"Girl?" The big man laughed. "You'll have to be more specific. But, if you expect her alive, you have come here for nothing." He sneered at the group, his men in the surrounding campsite pulling out their weapons.
Quinn jingled his bag of gold, "She was taken about a week ago, a teenage girl who was traveling with a guard headed toward Grethtown." None of them missed the mounting anticipation from the surrounding bandits. "And she had best not be harmed."
"Perhaps I remember her, and perhaps I don't. But, you are not in a position to be making demands and offerings to me, in the middle of my own lands, surrounded by my men!" Then he paused a second, thinking.
Tordek was catching on on what was wrong with this situation. The bandit leader, Ferrus, seemed to be stalling. He looked around, but he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe she was still alive somewhere here.
Quinn continued negotiations. "True. You could probably kill us. I don't doubt that we would be overwhelmed by your forces should you attack. But, how many men would you lose in the process? How many can you afford to lose for one girl? I offer you random, and you offer only shallow threats? These are the Heathens I've heard of?"
Ferrus stepped in closer. "You will not be undercutting me, boy. The girl might not be worth my men's lives, but my authority is." Then louder, he said for the benefit of his men, "This runt thinks he can scare us? Those who aren't even afraid of the gods themselves?" He smiled as he stepped away again. "I think you should show us your manners, boy."
This would have proven to be a good opportunity to work with Ferrus, secure whatever deal could be made, and get away. However, the negotiation was suddenly interrupted by high pitched sounds coming from the surrounding forest. A yip yip yip that couldn't be mistaken: the excited cries of kobolds attacking. Sling bullets, crossbow bolts, and flasks of alchemical fire flew from the trees at the bandits. A crowd of at least three dozen kobolds then came rushing from all sides, javelins, pikes, and swords at the ready.
And from above came a great roar as green beast flew overhead, its mouth spouting out a blast of poison air as it flew by some men on the outskirts of the camp, the men choking and falling to their knees. "Klykraxil..." Ferrus muttered. "He's betrayed us." The green dragon, as tall as a horse, but much wider and more heavily muscled flew by a few more men, biting their heads off, before settling down beside Ferrus and the PCs.
"Ferrus!" The dragon roared out the word. "The truce is done. Your offerings are no longer required." It reared its head back, making a choking sound, perhaps what passed for a laugh in dragon circles. It then looked at the PCs. "New guards? You shouldn't have. What tasty mortals they are. And they make such nice sounds when they move." It looked back to Ferrus. "You're done here."
With the last words, a reeking clinging vapor came pouring out of its mouth onto the people gathered around, weakening their legs and arms, and making it more difficult to see. Its attack was an onslaught of claws and fangs, and Ferrus managed to put the PCs between him and the attacking dragon.
The PCs tried to move apart as best they could, but oncoming kobolds meant that they couldn't move too far apart, lest one of the small creatures take advantage of them. They were in a catch-22 doing as best they could to avoid both attacks. The guards who had escorted them tried to hold off the kobolds while they fought the dragon, but they were being overwhelmed quickly.
Quinn and Korvun tried to get close to it, but it would hover and fly above them to try and land beside the weaker opponents and attack them, so they were caught in a game of cat and mouse with the large laughing beast. Alandra fired several arrows into it, and Sapphire's blasts seemed to annoy it, but every blow the dragon landed on them was like a landslide to their pebble-shooters. Tordek managed to keep their wounds closed while Korvun kept them standing regardless of injury, but that could only last so long.
It was then that Alandra noticed a robed figure emerging from a tent on the far side of the camp, pulling a girl in chains behind him. They made their way to leave the camp, the kobolds letting them through as he dragged her kicking and screaming behind him. They were too far away to try and stop... and they had their hands full. They might not survive to see sunset at this rate, much less save Sandra.
Finally, Korvun caught the monstrous Klykraxil between himself and Quinn, and together they were able to keep it from escaping. A few more strokes, and it was finding the whole battle much less fun. Everyone was on their last legs, but they were just starting to give him a run at a fight. Klykraxil then let loose a blast of poisonous gas again, this time catching many of the PCs, but not before Alandra and Sapphire hit him again with another flurry of hits against his chest.
The dragon, bleeding now, and starting to feel winded, pulled back, flying up into the air, but took another barrage of arrows, and Tordek hit him with a blast of light as Sapphire pelted him with fire. He could probably kill them, or at least most of them, but he was too smart for that. His time would come. "Fools! You have made a grave enemy this day coming here. You needn't have come to this runt's aid, but you have sealed your own fate. We will meet again." And with that he flew off. The battle around them, however, went on.
The PCs didn't want to stick around. The kobolds were overwhelming the bandits, who had mostly broken and were trying to flee. So, they did the only reasonable thing: they ran for it as well. Somehow, they made it out of the campsite and found the trail left by the escaping capturer and captive. Apparenlty he had met up with a group - of humans or the like it appeared - and headed North. They didn't waste time, they immediately legged it after.
OOC:
[sblock]Wow! This encounter was great. Level 2 PCs vs. a Level 5 dragon. Of course, I didn't want to use him to the death, he's a dragon after all, and even if he can take down a bunch of guys, he's not going to sacrifice himself to do so. He fought them until a little under bloodied before taking off. The battle was still harsh, and the PCs used up most (all?) of their dailies in the battle just to keep up.
Of course, afterward they found they had to keep moving if they wanted to save the girl. That meant that from here on out, the PCs didn't take an extended rest until she was safe. Which meant the adventure got really deadly since their major resources were used up at this point. And, there are still some hard ones to come!
I liked the old switch, and it worked out well in game. The players thought they were doing a skill challenge, maybe fight some bandits, and here comes a dragon flying onto the scene. Heh, scary.
[/sblock]They continued on through the night, following the tracks as best they could. The large number of people they were following, coupled with the fact that they were dragging the girl who was obviously not wanting to come along, meant that it was easy not to lose the trail. However, they were tired. They had taken a beating from the dragon, and if they kept going who knows what they would find ahead.
"We'll die." Alandra calmly told the others as they pushed onward.
"We have to save her. We have to do everything we can." Korvun wasn't so much worried about his own safety as what was going to happen if they didn't find her immediately. "They're probably going to sacrifice her to a dark god or something."
"Always with the dark gods," Quinn said.
"If we keep going, they'll just kill us."
"Perhaps," was Korvun's witty retort.
"We have to save her..." Tordek didn't sound completely resolute, but he wasn't going to leave her to the kidnappers.
"I agree we need to keep going," said Quinn.
"We'll die," repeated Alandra.
OOC:
[sblock]Paraphrased! But, yes, it wasn't a happy decision. And, when they almost all died later, Alandra's character was totally getting the "I told you so's" ready.
[/sblock]They headed through the woods into the morning, and a little after sun up, they found an old temple in the woods, with the trail leading right to it. The architecture was old, and it was covered in vines, but it was in surprisingly good shape. There were reliefs carved into the walls, perhaps some kind of history, fable, or other story about whatever faith had made this its home. There was only one way in that they could find after circling it, large double doors of sturdy wood, probably newly put in by the looks of it.
Preparing themselves for battle, they approached the front doors...
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