Middle World/Lakelands 1: Main Group
Baron Opal
First Post
The characters do seem to drop rather quickly. I wonder if it is the same player who suffers recurrent misfortune.
Baron Opal
Baron Opal
Raven Crowking
First Post
A Short Break For Editorial Comment
Thank you, Suldulin, and too true Baron Opal. They do seem to drop rather quickly. When I started the game, I told the players that the world was not designed for their characters. They could encounter creatures of any CR, encounters of any EL, so they had better pay attention to what they were doing. And they have encountered things beyond them. Sometimes, they've encountered those things and triumphed. I'm not going to save them "just because." They seem to be having a lot of fun, and even the deaths seem to bring a form of enjoyment. I keep having to turn people away from the table.
Raven Crowking
Baron Opal said:
Thank you, Suldulin, and too true Baron Opal. They do seem to drop rather quickly. When I started the game, I told the players that the world was not designed for their characters. They could encounter creatures of any CR, encounters of any EL, so they had better pay attention to what they were doing. And they have encountered things beyond them. Sometimes, they've encountered those things and triumphed. I'm not going to save them "just because." They seem to be having a lot of fun, and even the deaths seem to bring a form of enjoyment. I keep having to turn people away from the table.
Raven Crowking
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Raven Crowking
First Post
Eighth Session
For three days, it rained. Finally, the River Princess appeared where the Selwyn bent to the east. One of the sailors gave the group a wave. Soon, the ship’s boat was headed toward the bank. Ahern Atwood leapt out. Looking at the group, he was quick to see that their number had been reduced.
“Where is Krog?” he asked.
“He has passed on,” Locke said, indicating the cairn they had raised for him. They told Ahern what had passed in the ruins.
“I would like to see these ruins for myself,” Ahern said.
“No,” Desu said. “You would not. All that is to be found there is death.”
“I would still hazard my fortune.”
“Didn’t you hear what we told you?” Locke asked. “There were wolves. And skeletons. We couldn’t even hurt them!”
“I’m not going down there again,” Nift added, shaking his head.
“Well, I am,” said Ahern, “whether any of you will go with me or no. I know the Lupine Tongue. I can speak to wolves, and we might learn something to our advantage.”
When it was clear that Ahern would not be persuaded otherwise, the sailors took the ship’s boat back to the River Princess to wait for them. As Ahern tied his rope to the worn pillar, his companions gave way and chose to accompany him.
They climbed down into the dimly lit chamber. Ahern led the way. They lit torches once more. In the accumulated loam and leaves that scattered the antechamber floor, Ahern found a single wolf track, but it was oddly faded and indistinct.
“Clearly, these are not natural wolves.”
They descended the stairs into the pillared hall. Moving cautiously to avoid slipping in the water and muck, they slowly approached the area where the wolves had appeared before. The signs of their last struggle had disappeared – not even the stains of Krog’s blood remained.
They watched the flickering wolf-images carved upon the wall, but these were just images so far as they could tell. As expected, the shadowy wolves appeared when the group leader stepped about forty feet from stairs. Again, the four shadowy skeletons appeared, blocking their way forward, as the wolves blocked their retreat.
“Hold,” said Ahern in the Lupine Tongue. “We mean you no harm!”
The lead wolf paused. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” it answered in the same language.
“I am Ahern Atwood, a ranger. Do not attack us!”
“We are Guardians here. If you try to go back, we must attack you.”
“Then we will not go back. What of these skeletons?”
“They are also Guardians, to prevent you from going forward. See that you do not retreat, brother, or I shall slay you.”
Ahern agreed, and then told his companions what had passed. His companions seemed hopeful at this news overall, though Nift still eyed the wolves nervously. Nift began to play his instrument, hoping to inspire his friends into acts of great courage. Nift stepped back away from the shadowy skeletons, and one of the wolves stepped toward him with a low growl.
Now the group faced the four skeletons with zeal. But their zeal soon turned to dismay, for the skeletons were no less like shadowy phantoms this time than last, and their sharp weapons seemed to do little to the bone when they struck. The skeletons were supernaturally swift, and did not seem to be affected by the slick floor. Once more, the adventuring party was swiftly in need of healing, and began to prepare for retreat.
As they retreated, the wolves stepped in, bringing them down gently with their mouths. Clearly, the wolves were not yet certain that it was a retreat. Ahern bluffed quickly, pretending that they were not retreating at all, but seeking more favorable positions to combat the skeletons.
Nift was again the first to retreat. Locke and Desu were not far behind. Although the wolves sought to stop them, they gained the stairs and then the rope. Ahern was not as lucky. As he darted past three of the wolves, one caught him and flung him down. Rather than risk another attack healing his fallen companion, or to try to pull him the short distance up the stairway to safety, the trio of remaining adventurers left Ahern there to be ripped apart.
Once more they waited a space before going back into the ruin. They gathered the pieces of Ahern’s body and raised a second cairn next to that of Krog the Hungry.
For three days, it rained. Finally, the River Princess appeared where the Selwyn bent to the east. One of the sailors gave the group a wave. Soon, the ship’s boat was headed toward the bank. Ahern Atwood leapt out. Looking at the group, he was quick to see that their number had been reduced.
“Where is Krog?” he asked.
“He has passed on,” Locke said, indicating the cairn they had raised for him. They told Ahern what had passed in the ruins.
“I would like to see these ruins for myself,” Ahern said.
“No,” Desu said. “You would not. All that is to be found there is death.”
“I would still hazard my fortune.”
“Didn’t you hear what we told you?” Locke asked. “There were wolves. And skeletons. We couldn’t even hurt them!”
“I’m not going down there again,” Nift added, shaking his head.
“Well, I am,” said Ahern, “whether any of you will go with me or no. I know the Lupine Tongue. I can speak to wolves, and we might learn something to our advantage.”
When it was clear that Ahern would not be persuaded otherwise, the sailors took the ship’s boat back to the River Princess to wait for them. As Ahern tied his rope to the worn pillar, his companions gave way and chose to accompany him.
They climbed down into the dimly lit chamber. Ahern led the way. They lit torches once more. In the accumulated loam and leaves that scattered the antechamber floor, Ahern found a single wolf track, but it was oddly faded and indistinct.
“Clearly, these are not natural wolves.”
They descended the stairs into the pillared hall. Moving cautiously to avoid slipping in the water and muck, they slowly approached the area where the wolves had appeared before. The signs of their last struggle had disappeared – not even the stains of Krog’s blood remained.
They watched the flickering wolf-images carved upon the wall, but these were just images so far as they could tell. As expected, the shadowy wolves appeared when the group leader stepped about forty feet from stairs. Again, the four shadowy skeletons appeared, blocking their way forward, as the wolves blocked their retreat.
“Hold,” said Ahern in the Lupine Tongue. “We mean you no harm!”
The lead wolf paused. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” it answered in the same language.
“I am Ahern Atwood, a ranger. Do not attack us!”
“We are Guardians here. If you try to go back, we must attack you.”
“Then we will not go back. What of these skeletons?”
“They are also Guardians, to prevent you from going forward. See that you do not retreat, brother, or I shall slay you.”
Ahern agreed, and then told his companions what had passed. His companions seemed hopeful at this news overall, though Nift still eyed the wolves nervously. Nift began to play his instrument, hoping to inspire his friends into acts of great courage. Nift stepped back away from the shadowy skeletons, and one of the wolves stepped toward him with a low growl.
Now the group faced the four skeletons with zeal. But their zeal soon turned to dismay, for the skeletons were no less like shadowy phantoms this time than last, and their sharp weapons seemed to do little to the bone when they struck. The skeletons were supernaturally swift, and did not seem to be affected by the slick floor. Once more, the adventuring party was swiftly in need of healing, and began to prepare for retreat.
As they retreated, the wolves stepped in, bringing them down gently with their mouths. Clearly, the wolves were not yet certain that it was a retreat. Ahern bluffed quickly, pretending that they were not retreating at all, but seeking more favorable positions to combat the skeletons.
Nift was again the first to retreat. Locke and Desu were not far behind. Although the wolves sought to stop them, they gained the stairs and then the rope. Ahern was not as lucky. As he darted past three of the wolves, one caught him and flung him down. Rather than risk another attack healing his fallen companion, or to try to pull him the short distance up the stairway to safety, the trio of remaining adventurers left Ahern there to be ripped apart.
Once more they waited a space before going back into the ruin. They gathered the pieces of Ahern’s body and raised a second cairn next to that of Krog the Hungry.
Raven Crowking
First Post
Sorry...duplicate post 
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Raven Crowking
First Post
Ninth Session
Again, the ship’s boat was sent from the River Princess. This time, along with the sailors came a tall elf, a dwarf, and a comely Lakashi maiden with a longbow. The elf walked up to the group, while the dwarf and the maiden remained with the boat. “Where is Ahern?” he asked.
“Alas, he was slain in those ruins,” Nift replied, “by wolves.”
“I feared as much, when I saw you raising a cairn, and I could not see Ahern among your number.”
“He was a friend?”
“He was my half-brother. Poor Ahern! To have died so young!” The elf shook his head sadly, and his gaze seemed far away. Presently he recalled himself. “I am called Manveru Atwood,” he said. “These my companions are Eden, a sorceress of the Lakashi people, and Barrock the Hunter, a sturdy dwarf.”
“I am sorry for your loss,” Locke said.
“Thank you.”
“For my part, I will be happy to return to Selby-by-the-Water,” said Desu. “I do not like this place.”
They prepared to leave. As they headed toward the ship’s boat, however, a group of Lakashi women stepped out from the cover of the forested area to the south.
The women were tall and dark, with dark hair braided around feathers and held with snakeskin. They dressed in deer leather jerkins and pants, with snakeskin boots and belts. Two of them were armed with short bows – hand axes were in their belts. Four others were unarmed save for stout walking sticks. Their leader, a stunning woman with clear green eyes, raised her hands to show that she bore no weapon, and walked slowly forward.
Desu went out to meet her.
“What clan are you?” she asked.
“I am Desu Atram, of the Catfish People of the Hooth Marshes.”
“I am Catori of the Adder People. These you see are under my charge. We were on pilgrimage to the Serpent Stone, but we lost two warriors to monstrous spiders, and we were forced to turn aside. I thought our pilgrimage would be in vain, until I saw you. Surely our ancestors ordained such a fate! Will you aid us? The Serpent Stone is in a hidden valley, not two days from this place.”
Desu didn’t even have to ask his comrades. This was a thing he would do, even if he must do it alone.
“It is not our custom to bring outsiders to the Valley of Snakes, but if you vouch for your comrades, that they will not betray the secret of its location, I will accept your word.”
“I will vouch for them.”
Apart from Catori, there were the two archers, Altsoba and Amadahy. The women bearing staves were named Dena, Ituha, Mansi, and Sokwe. They helped the adventurers gather their goods from the pile readied for the ship’s boat. Locke spoke to the sailors, letting them know that the company would not be returning to the River Princess.
A serpent as long as a man drew itself off of the ship’s boat, and followed Manveru. Catori looked at the elf, appraisingly.
When all was prepared, the Lakashi women led the party through the forest to the south. Small streams and pools broke the land, but overall the way rose from the river to higher ground. It was slow going on foot. Occasionally, the party was forced to skirt around a cliff of sheer rock in order to find an easier passage, or to move cautiously over loose skree. Overall, though, it was clear that Catori knew where she was going.
After a few hours of this travel, they struck a trail. At first it seemed little more than a game trail under towering pines, but after a while it widened out, and the adventurers could tell that they now followed an ancient road, running almost straight. Whoever had made it, it was very long ago, for the trees that first thrust up through the old road stones were themselves ancient or fallen.
At one point, a movement in the trees warned them of an owlbear bearing down upon them. The Lakashi women quickly moved back, leaving the rest of the party to face the creature. Eden, the Lakashi sorceress, moved back with them. Altsoba and Amadahy strung their bows. After a moment, Eden did the same.
Desu reached into the Green and began to make motions necessary to summon up his connection to the living world. He spoke a word of command, and the Green responded, causing the undergrowth – and even the trees – to entwine around the approaching beast. Unfortunately, he had miscalculated the distance, and the Green’s fey nature. Even at the edge of where they stood, the plants tried to grasp their legs. Those who could swiftly stepped back. Locke, however, was entangled…and he was their strongest fighter!
Locke struggled to free himself as his companions sent arrows and sling bullets toward the enraged owlbear. The creature was as large as the great brown bears of the deep forest, but its forequarters were those of an enormous great horned owl. Its eyes burned with malice. Its beak snapped ineffectually at them. The plants held it at bay for a time, but it was strong, and moved forward slowly against the entangling plants.
Though struck by half a dozen arrows, it pushed on until at last it had reached the edge of the entangling effect, where the party stood. Manveru commanded his serpent companion to attack, and it struck with venomous fangs.
Locke still struggled against the vines and grasses that held him – there would be no help from that quarter.
Manveru drew his scimitar, and Barrock the Hunter stepped forward with his axe. Together they hewed the thing until it fell. By this time, Manveru was bloodied unto exhaustion, and Barrock had fallen. Desu quickly stepped forward to heal Barrock, but Manveru was himself a member of the druidic brotherhood. Reaching into the Green, Manveru caused his own flesh to knit together as much as he was able.
Eventually, the plants grew still once more. Barrock began to remove the claws from one of the owlbear’s large paws. “This will make an interesting trophy,” he said.
Locke cut through one of the owlbear’s haunches. “This will make an interesting dinner!” said he.
They followed the ancient road for the rest of the day. The land continued to rise and fall about them, though the road must have been well made as it was reasonably level. Occasionally, they could see outthrusts of rock that loomed over the track, or loose tumbles of old stone that must once have marked walls or stone fences, but these were few and far between.
As night drew near, the Lakashi made for a shallow cave that they seemed to know well. Within, there was a fire pit and stacked firewood. Representations of forest animals had been painted on the walls of the cave with ochre and natural dyes – deer, wolves, bears, boar, and snakes. While crudely stylized, the paintings had a kind of natural grace about them.
Locke and Manveru squabbled over who would cook the meat, until they decided to work together. Barrock went out to see if he could find any crayfish in one of the small nearby streams to add to the meal, but he saw nothing. That night, they ate the owlbear’s haunch. The piece of meat Barrock ate may have been envenomed, for it made him ill.
Again, the ship’s boat was sent from the River Princess. This time, along with the sailors came a tall elf, a dwarf, and a comely Lakashi maiden with a longbow. The elf walked up to the group, while the dwarf and the maiden remained with the boat. “Where is Ahern?” he asked.
“Alas, he was slain in those ruins,” Nift replied, “by wolves.”
“I feared as much, when I saw you raising a cairn, and I could not see Ahern among your number.”
“He was a friend?”
“He was my half-brother. Poor Ahern! To have died so young!” The elf shook his head sadly, and his gaze seemed far away. Presently he recalled himself. “I am called Manveru Atwood,” he said. “These my companions are Eden, a sorceress of the Lakashi people, and Barrock the Hunter, a sturdy dwarf.”
“I am sorry for your loss,” Locke said.
“Thank you.”
“For my part, I will be happy to return to Selby-by-the-Water,” said Desu. “I do not like this place.”
They prepared to leave. As they headed toward the ship’s boat, however, a group of Lakashi women stepped out from the cover of the forested area to the south.
The women were tall and dark, with dark hair braided around feathers and held with snakeskin. They dressed in deer leather jerkins and pants, with snakeskin boots and belts. Two of them were armed with short bows – hand axes were in their belts. Four others were unarmed save for stout walking sticks. Their leader, a stunning woman with clear green eyes, raised her hands to show that she bore no weapon, and walked slowly forward.
Desu went out to meet her.
“What clan are you?” she asked.
“I am Desu Atram, of the Catfish People of the Hooth Marshes.”
“I am Catori of the Adder People. These you see are under my charge. We were on pilgrimage to the Serpent Stone, but we lost two warriors to monstrous spiders, and we were forced to turn aside. I thought our pilgrimage would be in vain, until I saw you. Surely our ancestors ordained such a fate! Will you aid us? The Serpent Stone is in a hidden valley, not two days from this place.”
Desu didn’t even have to ask his comrades. This was a thing he would do, even if he must do it alone.
“It is not our custom to bring outsiders to the Valley of Snakes, but if you vouch for your comrades, that they will not betray the secret of its location, I will accept your word.”
“I will vouch for them.”
Apart from Catori, there were the two archers, Altsoba and Amadahy. The women bearing staves were named Dena, Ituha, Mansi, and Sokwe. They helped the adventurers gather their goods from the pile readied for the ship’s boat. Locke spoke to the sailors, letting them know that the company would not be returning to the River Princess.
A serpent as long as a man drew itself off of the ship’s boat, and followed Manveru. Catori looked at the elf, appraisingly.
When all was prepared, the Lakashi women led the party through the forest to the south. Small streams and pools broke the land, but overall the way rose from the river to higher ground. It was slow going on foot. Occasionally, the party was forced to skirt around a cliff of sheer rock in order to find an easier passage, or to move cautiously over loose skree. Overall, though, it was clear that Catori knew where she was going.
After a few hours of this travel, they struck a trail. At first it seemed little more than a game trail under towering pines, but after a while it widened out, and the adventurers could tell that they now followed an ancient road, running almost straight. Whoever had made it, it was very long ago, for the trees that first thrust up through the old road stones were themselves ancient or fallen.
At one point, a movement in the trees warned them of an owlbear bearing down upon them. The Lakashi women quickly moved back, leaving the rest of the party to face the creature. Eden, the Lakashi sorceress, moved back with them. Altsoba and Amadahy strung their bows. After a moment, Eden did the same.
Desu reached into the Green and began to make motions necessary to summon up his connection to the living world. He spoke a word of command, and the Green responded, causing the undergrowth – and even the trees – to entwine around the approaching beast. Unfortunately, he had miscalculated the distance, and the Green’s fey nature. Even at the edge of where they stood, the plants tried to grasp their legs. Those who could swiftly stepped back. Locke, however, was entangled…and he was their strongest fighter!
Locke struggled to free himself as his companions sent arrows and sling bullets toward the enraged owlbear. The creature was as large as the great brown bears of the deep forest, but its forequarters were those of an enormous great horned owl. Its eyes burned with malice. Its beak snapped ineffectually at them. The plants held it at bay for a time, but it was strong, and moved forward slowly against the entangling plants.
Though struck by half a dozen arrows, it pushed on until at last it had reached the edge of the entangling effect, where the party stood. Manveru commanded his serpent companion to attack, and it struck with venomous fangs.
Locke still struggled against the vines and grasses that held him – there would be no help from that quarter.
Manveru drew his scimitar, and Barrock the Hunter stepped forward with his axe. Together they hewed the thing until it fell. By this time, Manveru was bloodied unto exhaustion, and Barrock had fallen. Desu quickly stepped forward to heal Barrock, but Manveru was himself a member of the druidic brotherhood. Reaching into the Green, Manveru caused his own flesh to knit together as much as he was able.
Eventually, the plants grew still once more. Barrock began to remove the claws from one of the owlbear’s large paws. “This will make an interesting trophy,” he said.
Locke cut through one of the owlbear’s haunches. “This will make an interesting dinner!” said he.
They followed the ancient road for the rest of the day. The land continued to rise and fall about them, though the road must have been well made as it was reasonably level. Occasionally, they could see outthrusts of rock that loomed over the track, or loose tumbles of old stone that must once have marked walls or stone fences, but these were few and far between.
As night drew near, the Lakashi made for a shallow cave that they seemed to know well. Within, there was a fire pit and stacked firewood. Representations of forest animals had been painted on the walls of the cave with ochre and natural dyes – deer, wolves, bears, boar, and snakes. While crudely stylized, the paintings had a kind of natural grace about them.
Locke and Manveru squabbled over who would cook the meat, until they decided to work together. Barrock went out to see if he could find any crayfish in one of the small nearby streams to add to the meal, but he saw nothing. That night, they ate the owlbear’s haunch. The piece of meat Barrock ate may have been envenomed, for it made him ill.
Raven Crowking
First Post
Tenth Session
The next day, the sky began to cloud up, threatening more rain. Barrock continued to feel ill, and Locke felt little better, but the group decided to press on anyway.
After following the ancient road for a couple of hours, the Lakashi left the roadway, turning onto a narrow pathway that zigzagged up the rocky hills to the south. The trees along the strenuous climb were less numerous. Tiny toads hopped out of their way along the path, and chipmunks were plentiful. As the path neared the summit of the hills, it turned into a narrow cut, a gap that began to move steadily down toward the valley land below.
Catori, the Lakashi leader, turned toward the adventurers. “It is just ahead here that we were attacked by spiders,” she said. “They killed Olathe and Motega, but not before they were able to strike back. Whether one of the spiders survived, or two, I cannot say.”
“Will any of you come with us?” Desu asked.
“We are not warriors.” Catori looked away. “Go forward, be bold, and clear the way. Surely the spirits will grant you some reward for your bravery and sacrifice.”
Locke and Barrock were still feeling ill, so Desu and Manveru nervously led the way. Eden and Nift stayed far behind, with Nift playing his guitar to inspire courage. There was some tall grass, and a few stunted trees growing in the pass. Manveru searched the area, and found a curled-up, grayish-black husk – the dried remains of a spider the Lakashi had killed. It had been a hairy spider, not unlike a wolf spider, about three feet in diameter.
“Not warriors indeed!” Desu grinned. “I had thought the spiders would be the size of a horse at least!”
They could find no sign of the spider’s Lakashi victims, Olathe or Motega. They moved forward more boldly into the pass. Two spiders still lurked there, hidden and waiting for a chance to strike. The adventurers where ready, though, and made short work of the vermin.
Not far from where the spiders attacked them, Desu saw a hole cut into the cliff on the right-hand side. The hole was only about three feet high by three feet across, about twenty feet up the slope, where rock gave way to soil. Spidersilk and old cobwebs obscured his view of the hole, but it was clearly too even to be natural.
Desu pointed it out to his companions. “That must be where they laired,” he said. “Let us hope there are no more.”
They returned to the Lakashi pilgrims. After briefly explaining what had happened, the entire group moved forward through the pass.
Beyond the spider cliffs, the pass descended into a narrow valley, perhaps ten miles wide and thrice as long, ranged all about with hills and cliffs. The valley floor seemed heavily forested, save where one hill rose, perhaps fifteen miles inward. That hill was barren save for a single longstone, which stood amid a jumble of rock. The longstone seemed strangely disquieting.
Eden caught a flash, like sunlight on metal, on one of the hills on the far side of the valley, but it was too far away and gone too quickly to determine exactly what it was. Still, it seemed that there might be old stoneworks there, standing against the sky.
As they moved down into the valley, there was a sudden hissing noise. They stopped. Ahead, an adder twice as long as a man was coiled around a tree, perhaps twenty feet ahead.
Catori raised one hand, as though in greeting of the huge snake. The adventurers stepped back warily, though none of the Lakashi women seemed alarmed, save Eden the Sorceress.
The adder let out another long hiss, then spoke in the Serpent Tongue: “Speak, Sister,” it hissed, “or die.”
Manveru pricked up his ears, for he understood the language of snakes.
“I am Catori of the Adder Folk,” the Lakashi leader hissed back. “These women are with me, pilgrims to the Serpent Stone. These men have aided us, but they are not of our kind.”
“No outsiders may know the way to this valley and live,” the snake hissed.
“I understand. When we have passed on, you may do with them as you like. Only recall that they have aided us, and be gentle with their deaths. May they fill your belly, and the belly of your children.”
“It is so,” hissed the serpent. “You may pass.”
Catori turned to the adventurers, and spoke in the common tongue of the Lakelands. “Beyond this place, only the faithful may enter. I have spoken with the Guardian. Remain here while we go, and you will be rewarded.”
Manveru bit his lip. Better to let his enemies divide themselves, and fight them one at a time. Still, it chaffed him to have aided these women that, all along, had plotted his ruin. He quietly loosened his scimitar in its sheath.
The Lakashi pilgrims descended into the valley. The Guardian of the Valley, coiled around its tree, stared unblinking at the adventurers. “Get ready,” Manveru said, quietly but tersely to his comrades. He stepped forward and addressed the Guardian.
“I, too, speak the Serpent Tongue,” he said.
“It grieves me, then, that you must die.” The huge adder uncoiled itself from the tree. It hissed and writhed on the ground as it came forward, and the grasses began to animate, seeking to hold the adventurers fast. Manveru leapt forward with his scimitar, cutting the evil serpent, and breaking its connection to the magical energies it was gathering. The adventurers drew their weapons, and melee was joined.
Locke and Barrock were still weak, poisoned or ill, and could do little to aid their comrades. Desu and Manveru leapt into the fray, while Eden stepped back and conjured a magical pool of greasy slime in an effort to contain the serpent. The serpent lashed out, again and again, with venom-dripping fangs. It was clear, though, that the group was getting the better of their adversary. Whatever minor healing powers it could draw upon were not enough. Soon, the Guardian of the Valley lay dead. The adventurers stood, wounded and poisoned, victorious but unwell.
“We need to rest before pursuing those witches,” Desu said. “We need to recover, and let this venom run its course. We are in no shape for more battle today.”
The rest of the group gave mute agreement. They began to make camp, thinking about the women they had befriended and aided, and how they had been betrayed. Had Manveru not spoken the language of snakes, they might all have been ensnared and slain. There would have to be revenge.
Revenge, however, would have to be delayed. Desu lay on the floor of the pass, close to the fire they had built. He was growing chill, but the venom was a constant fire burning within his muscles. The Lakashi were matriarchal. Desu had been raised to respect the words and advice of women. How could he have denied these their simple request for aid?
Yes, he thought, there would have to be vengeance. Not only for himself, but for the honor of the tribal mothers Catori’s actions had betrayed.
* * * * *
Barrock and Locke were still ill in the morning, but the rest of the group felt a little better. They broke camp and headed down the trail.
The valley was moist, and the growth was dense, both in terms of the trees themselves and the undergrowth choking the area between their trunks. It was very difficult to see any distance into the forest. The air seemed thick and cloying. The trees seemed to crowd the path, and at times it seemed as though hostile eyes were peering down from the trees upon the group as they passed beneath them.
The oppression of the valley seemingly did little to affect Desu’s spirits. The rest of the group, though, was becoming increasingly, and to varying degrees, nervous. After following the path for several hours, they came across a side track.
“The Serpent Stone is straight ahead,” Manveru said. “It is the direction they would have gone.”
The continued onward. Some little time later, a man-sized constrictor snake dropped from a low branch onto Nift, who was walking last in line. They came quickly to the small gnome’s aid, but by the time they could stop his assailant, Nift was already unconscious from his wounds.
“We need to leave this valley,” Desu said. “Rest again.” He looked down. “We may be forced to let these Adder Folk go.”
“We’ll rest another day,” said Manveru. “But we’re not letting them go.”
* * * * *
That night, as they camped in the pass once more, they cooked the constrictor snake that had attacked Nift.
Manveru noticed a pair of eyes, reflected yellow-green from the fire, staring at them from the darkness, low to the ground. Standing, and approaching the eyes, he saw a red fox crouched near the pass wall. The creature did not seem afraid of him, so Manveru tried the Lupine Tongue, which he also spoke, and which was understood by most intelligent canines.
“What do you want?” he asked.
The fox licked its lips. “Just a bite of your dinner,” he answered in the Vulpine dialect of the same language – a more cultured, and less aggressive, form of the Canine Tongue.
“We are happy to share,” Manveru said, and threw the fox a goodly portion. The fox sat beyond their firelight, eating daintily and seemingly contented to listen in on their speech. In the morning, it was gone.
The next day, the sky began to cloud up, threatening more rain. Barrock continued to feel ill, and Locke felt little better, but the group decided to press on anyway.
After following the ancient road for a couple of hours, the Lakashi left the roadway, turning onto a narrow pathway that zigzagged up the rocky hills to the south. The trees along the strenuous climb were less numerous. Tiny toads hopped out of their way along the path, and chipmunks were plentiful. As the path neared the summit of the hills, it turned into a narrow cut, a gap that began to move steadily down toward the valley land below.
Catori, the Lakashi leader, turned toward the adventurers. “It is just ahead here that we were attacked by spiders,” she said. “They killed Olathe and Motega, but not before they were able to strike back. Whether one of the spiders survived, or two, I cannot say.”
“Will any of you come with us?” Desu asked.
“We are not warriors.” Catori looked away. “Go forward, be bold, and clear the way. Surely the spirits will grant you some reward for your bravery and sacrifice.”
Locke and Barrock were still feeling ill, so Desu and Manveru nervously led the way. Eden and Nift stayed far behind, with Nift playing his guitar to inspire courage. There was some tall grass, and a few stunted trees growing in the pass. Manveru searched the area, and found a curled-up, grayish-black husk – the dried remains of a spider the Lakashi had killed. It had been a hairy spider, not unlike a wolf spider, about three feet in diameter.
“Not warriors indeed!” Desu grinned. “I had thought the spiders would be the size of a horse at least!”
They could find no sign of the spider’s Lakashi victims, Olathe or Motega. They moved forward more boldly into the pass. Two spiders still lurked there, hidden and waiting for a chance to strike. The adventurers where ready, though, and made short work of the vermin.
Not far from where the spiders attacked them, Desu saw a hole cut into the cliff on the right-hand side. The hole was only about three feet high by three feet across, about twenty feet up the slope, where rock gave way to soil. Spidersilk and old cobwebs obscured his view of the hole, but it was clearly too even to be natural.
Desu pointed it out to his companions. “That must be where they laired,” he said. “Let us hope there are no more.”
They returned to the Lakashi pilgrims. After briefly explaining what had happened, the entire group moved forward through the pass.
Beyond the spider cliffs, the pass descended into a narrow valley, perhaps ten miles wide and thrice as long, ranged all about with hills and cliffs. The valley floor seemed heavily forested, save where one hill rose, perhaps fifteen miles inward. That hill was barren save for a single longstone, which stood amid a jumble of rock. The longstone seemed strangely disquieting.
Eden caught a flash, like sunlight on metal, on one of the hills on the far side of the valley, but it was too far away and gone too quickly to determine exactly what it was. Still, it seemed that there might be old stoneworks there, standing against the sky.
As they moved down into the valley, there was a sudden hissing noise. They stopped. Ahead, an adder twice as long as a man was coiled around a tree, perhaps twenty feet ahead.
Catori raised one hand, as though in greeting of the huge snake. The adventurers stepped back warily, though none of the Lakashi women seemed alarmed, save Eden the Sorceress.
The adder let out another long hiss, then spoke in the Serpent Tongue: “Speak, Sister,” it hissed, “or die.”
Manveru pricked up his ears, for he understood the language of snakes.
“I am Catori of the Adder Folk,” the Lakashi leader hissed back. “These women are with me, pilgrims to the Serpent Stone. These men have aided us, but they are not of our kind.”
“No outsiders may know the way to this valley and live,” the snake hissed.
“I understand. When we have passed on, you may do with them as you like. Only recall that they have aided us, and be gentle with their deaths. May they fill your belly, and the belly of your children.”
“It is so,” hissed the serpent. “You may pass.”
Catori turned to the adventurers, and spoke in the common tongue of the Lakelands. “Beyond this place, only the faithful may enter. I have spoken with the Guardian. Remain here while we go, and you will be rewarded.”
Manveru bit his lip. Better to let his enemies divide themselves, and fight them one at a time. Still, it chaffed him to have aided these women that, all along, had plotted his ruin. He quietly loosened his scimitar in its sheath.
The Lakashi pilgrims descended into the valley. The Guardian of the Valley, coiled around its tree, stared unblinking at the adventurers. “Get ready,” Manveru said, quietly but tersely to his comrades. He stepped forward and addressed the Guardian.
“I, too, speak the Serpent Tongue,” he said.
“It grieves me, then, that you must die.” The huge adder uncoiled itself from the tree. It hissed and writhed on the ground as it came forward, and the grasses began to animate, seeking to hold the adventurers fast. Manveru leapt forward with his scimitar, cutting the evil serpent, and breaking its connection to the magical energies it was gathering. The adventurers drew their weapons, and melee was joined.
Locke and Barrock were still weak, poisoned or ill, and could do little to aid their comrades. Desu and Manveru leapt into the fray, while Eden stepped back and conjured a magical pool of greasy slime in an effort to contain the serpent. The serpent lashed out, again and again, with venom-dripping fangs. It was clear, though, that the group was getting the better of their adversary. Whatever minor healing powers it could draw upon were not enough. Soon, the Guardian of the Valley lay dead. The adventurers stood, wounded and poisoned, victorious but unwell.
“We need to rest before pursuing those witches,” Desu said. “We need to recover, and let this venom run its course. We are in no shape for more battle today.”
The rest of the group gave mute agreement. They began to make camp, thinking about the women they had befriended and aided, and how they had been betrayed. Had Manveru not spoken the language of snakes, they might all have been ensnared and slain. There would have to be revenge.
Revenge, however, would have to be delayed. Desu lay on the floor of the pass, close to the fire they had built. He was growing chill, but the venom was a constant fire burning within his muscles. The Lakashi were matriarchal. Desu had been raised to respect the words and advice of women. How could he have denied these their simple request for aid?
Yes, he thought, there would have to be vengeance. Not only for himself, but for the honor of the tribal mothers Catori’s actions had betrayed.
* * * * *
Barrock and Locke were still ill in the morning, but the rest of the group felt a little better. They broke camp and headed down the trail.
The valley was moist, and the growth was dense, both in terms of the trees themselves and the undergrowth choking the area between their trunks. It was very difficult to see any distance into the forest. The air seemed thick and cloying. The trees seemed to crowd the path, and at times it seemed as though hostile eyes were peering down from the trees upon the group as they passed beneath them.
The oppression of the valley seemingly did little to affect Desu’s spirits. The rest of the group, though, was becoming increasingly, and to varying degrees, nervous. After following the path for several hours, they came across a side track.
“The Serpent Stone is straight ahead,” Manveru said. “It is the direction they would have gone.”
The continued onward. Some little time later, a man-sized constrictor snake dropped from a low branch onto Nift, who was walking last in line. They came quickly to the small gnome’s aid, but by the time they could stop his assailant, Nift was already unconscious from his wounds.
“We need to leave this valley,” Desu said. “Rest again.” He looked down. “We may be forced to let these Adder Folk go.”
“We’ll rest another day,” said Manveru. “But we’re not letting them go.”
* * * * *
That night, as they camped in the pass once more, they cooked the constrictor snake that had attacked Nift.
Manveru noticed a pair of eyes, reflected yellow-green from the fire, staring at them from the darkness, low to the ground. Standing, and approaching the eyes, he saw a red fox crouched near the pass wall. The creature did not seem afraid of him, so Manveru tried the Lupine Tongue, which he also spoke, and which was understood by most intelligent canines.
“What do you want?” he asked.
The fox licked its lips. “Just a bite of your dinner,” he answered in the Vulpine dialect of the same language – a more cultured, and less aggressive, form of the Canine Tongue.
“We are happy to share,” Manveru said, and threw the fox a goodly portion. The fox sat beyond their firelight, eating daintily and seemingly contented to listen in on their speech. In the morning, it was gone.
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Raven Crowking
First Post
Eleventh Session
They were all better in the morning, save Barrock, who continued to feel ill.
Once more they headed into the oppressive forest of the Valley of Serpents. The sense of watchfulness, combined with the thick growth, played upon their nerves. Again, Desu seemed immune, and Manveru nearly so, as though the forest recognized their druidic nature and allowed them to pass nearly unmolested.
The path left the forest about a mile aay from the treeless, boulder-strewn hill they had seen from the pass above. The halted for a short while, gathering their courage against the dark forest behind them.
From the pass, the Serpent Stone had seemed like a single longstone of moderate size – now that they were about two miles away, it appeared to be the work of giants. At least fifty feet tall, it towered over the other shards of stone on the hill. It seemed likely to have been of natural origin, because at least part of it must have lain beneath the hill to hold it upright, especially as it leaned somewhat to the east.
As they approached the hill, they could see the Lakashi pilgrims performing some ceremony at its summit. Catori was before the colossal stone, arms upraised. . Dena, Ituha, Mansi, and Sokwe assisted her. Altsoba and Amadahy, the two archers, stood some way off, keeping watch. Amadahy gave a piercing whistle as she saw the group begin the long climb uphill.
“You profane this sacred place with your presence!” Catori shouted at them. “Go now, and thank the Spirits they allow you to leave with your life!”
“Throw down your weapons, and perhaps we will leave you with your life!” Nift shouted back.
Altsoba and Amadahy loosed a volley of arrows, one of them striking Barrock, the stone arrowhead cutting into his skin even as he twisted to prevent the arrow from lodging in muscle.
“Enough,” Desu said. He reached into the Green and commanded the grass on the hilltop to ensnare the Lakashi women. He warned his comrades, for the entangling plants would not distinguish between friend or foe; it would attempt to hold fast any that entered the spell’s area of effect.
Apart from Altsoba and Amadahy, it seemed that the women were armed with staves only. Eden bent her own bow, as the two druids – Desu and Manveru – prepared their slings. Locke and Nift brought out the crossbows they had taken from the kobolds of the Dragon’s Lair caves, while Barrock ran straight into Desu’s spell effect, and was entangled.
There followed a battle of missile fire. The Laksahi women closest to Catori closed around her where they could, trying to protect her as she backed into the Serpent Stone. Catori chanted and sang spells, but they seemed to be ineffective, save to heal her wounds.
One by one, the archers fell. Dena fell. Catori, struck by a sling stone, slumped to the ground, and the other women surrendered. They threw down their staves.
They could see now that the Serpent Stone was a single spar of black basalt thrust up from the ground, six feet in length and width, and about sixty feet tall. It was obvious that the stone was natural. Even so, it had been decorated over the centuries with carved whorls and images reminiscent of entwined serpents, double-headed snakes and dragons.
Desu cautioned his friends to wait until the spirit that animated the grass departed. As soon as the entangling effect was gone, the three remaining women – Ituha, Mansi, and Sokwe – threw down their staves and ran away, down the far side of the hill. Nift and Barrock made to give chase, but Desu called him back.
“It’s Catori we want,” he said. “I want to know why she betrayed us.”
Desu knelt by Catori, but leaped back as a small viper curled upon her chest struck at him.
The Serpent Stone radiated an almost magnetic power – although it seemed more to attract people than their metal gear. Desu could feel its pull without difficulty.
Manveru came forward. “Who are you?” he asked in the Serpent Tongue.
“I am Askook,” the small viper hissed. “You will not harm the Mistress! If you touch her, I shall strike!”
“Can you convince it to let us heal her?”
“I’ll try,” Manveru said, but it was not easy. The little snake wasn’t terribly intelligent. In the end, it only agreed to allow them to touch its mistress when Manveru carefully explained that, without aid, its mistress would die.
“But if you lie, I shall strike!”
As soon as Manveru got the tiny snake to slither off of Catori, Desu stepped up and examined her. He reached into the Green and used a portion of his power to knit her wounds, bringing her to consciousness. Desu watched carefully. It took Catori a few seconds to take in her circumstances. When she was fully aware, he asked her, “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you betray us?” Desu could not keep the poison from his voice.
“You should have died,” Catori said, her voice dripping with contempt. “It should have been enough for you to serve, and to depart when your time came. You need to learn your place, man.”
“Now it is you who shall die!” Nift said.
“Perhaps, but if I die it will be restoring the holiness of this sacred place, and the spirits will avenge me. You are not allowed to walk here and live! Better if you fell now upon your swords than continue to profane this valley.”
She stood slowly, making no sudden moves. She then leaned back into the Serpent Stone. “If you cured me, you wish me healthy. I am going to cast a charm now that will knit my wounds. Do not seek to stop me.”
The adventurer’s stayed wary as Catori spoke rapid words in an arcane tongue. Her wounds began to close and heal. When she was done, she opened her eyes and looked at Desu. “I thank you,” she said. As she spoke, Desu felt needle-sharp fangs bite into his ankle. Askook, the tiny viper, had poisoned him.
Desu danced back, trying to strike the tiny sepent before he was struck again. “What are you doing?”
Catori drew a dagger. “What you should be doing, Lakashi-man-who-does-not-know-his-place.” She looked at Eden. “What you should be doing, Sister.”
“I don’t think so,” said Eden.
“We would have let you live!” Desu said.
“Do you think I could live, and allow you to desicrate this sacred place? While there is breath in me, I will strike at you!”
“Enough.” Manveru’s sling bolt dropped Catori once more. Desu danced back, was bit again, and then managed to strike Askook a mortal wound. Manveru knelt by Catori. “She is still breathing,” he said.
“No more,” said Desu, and he killed her.
“Hey!” said Nift. “I was hoping to have some fun with her first.”
Desu looked on him with distain. “Are you a gnome, or one of the goblinfolk?” he asked derisively. “She did not wish to live if we entered the Valley of Serpents and lived, and I have honored her request.” He looked down upon her body. “As I should.”
Nift caught the disgusted looks of his comrades. “What? I just…” He shrugged defeatedly, and went to loot the dead.
Manveru stepped forward, and placed his hand upon the Serpent Stone. There was no part of the stone that had not been touched by carving, and much of the work had been worn away and redone over the ages. He could feel its power, a great nexus of ley lines that radiated magic almost a dozen yards away. His hair felt as though it should be standing on end.
“What is it?” asked Nift.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Desu asked.
“Nothing.”
“I would swear from your expression that there was something.”
“No, nothing.”
“Very well.”
There was little on the bodies of the dead, for the pilgrims were not wealthy. The group decided not to pursue those who had flown, but instead returned to the pass, going through the forest. Though they were again assailed by a sense of watchfulness and oppression, it affected them less.
Perhaps it was some spirit of the place that sought to punish them, or prevent them from leaving, but as they passed through the forest, Barrock was attacked by something that seemed to be a leopard, only it was made of branches and twisting vines. The group was able to defeat it, but Barrock was sorely wounded and lay unconscious. They bore him upon their shoulders up, out of the valley.
They camped in the pass one last time. In the morning, Manveru found himself contemplating the three-foot wide tunnel in the side of the cliff. “I could get up there,” he said.
“I am poisoned and ill,” said Desu. “I’m not going up there.”
“Will you wait for me if I go?”
“Two hours,” said Locke.
“I’ll go with you,” said Eden.
They only had to climb twenty feet up the sloping cliff. The angle was not too severe, and there were plenty of handholds, so it was a simple task. Looking into the hole, Manveru saw a narrow tunnel sloping downward for about ten feet or so before opening into a larger area. The tunnel was lined with old cobwebs, but there was no sign of living creatures, apart from tiny insects and miniscule spiders.
Manveru pulled himself into the tunnel, and crawled into the larger space.
The tunnel was lined with slabs of stone, and slabs of stone made up the ceiling. After ten feet, it opened into a circular chamber some twenty feet in diameter. The spiralling ceiling of stone was a mere five feet high at its highest point. Hearing Eden coming up behind him, Manveru stepped in to make room.
The chamber was littered with old bones, and with the spider-wrapped, dried carcasses of small forest animals. The two Lakashi the spiders had killed – Olathe and Motega, Catori had called them – had apparently been a man and a woman. They had been dragged in here and consumed.
There was another three-foot passage opposite the entry tunnel. Manveru looked down it; it ended after about five feet with a stone slab.
Moving down the tunnel, Manveru tried to shift the slab. It was heavy, but it moved, revealing a small chamber, just a little more than seven feet in diameter. This was obviously a burial chamber, for ancient mouldering bones were laid out on a small stone slab.
Manveru entered and looked around. Various urns and clay pots in the chamber held the goods that the deceased had brought into the afterlife with him. Although many of these things had long ago turned to dust, Manveru found several interesting items: many amber beads, apparently once part of a necklace; an ivory ring carved with the crude likeness of a cat; a crudely carved soapstone owl, and a ring carved from bone.
Bringing these things into the first chamber, Manveru gave the bone ring and some of the beads to Eden. They then looked at the chamber walls. Soon they discovered two more stones that looked as though they might shift.
Behind the stone slab to the northeast, they saw a three foot section of passage, opening into a small chamber no more than five feet in diameter. Small animals had crept into this place, disturbing the bones of the dead. They could hear several mice squeaking as they sought to hide within the shattered remnants of old burial urns.
Again they searched, finding a handful of amber beads. They also found a piece of corroded brass, upon which were pressed letters they could not read. Finally, they found a pair of jade earrings shaped like tiny fish. Once they were back to the central chamber, Eden spoke an incantation to learn which of their treasures might be enchanted. Both rings, and the earrings, glowed faintly to her eyes. She put the earrings on.
It was much more difficult to shift the stone leading to the southwestern chamber, but with some effort they were able to shift it.
A scent of age, spices, and must wafted out of the tunnel. Behind the stone slab was a three-foot section of passage, three feet wide and three feet high. After that, they could see a tiny, low chamber perhaps five feet across. Obviously, that chamber had never been disturbed – the buried dead had been mummified on his stone slab, and they could still make out the spirals and waves of the tattoos he once proudly sported.
Although several clay urns had been buried in the chamber as well, Manveru and Eden returned the stone without entering that place.
“I have no wish to disturb a mummy,” said Manveru. Eden agreed.
Of course, once they had returned, everyone wanted to know what they had discovered in the small crypt. Yet, though Manveru and Eden were willing to describe the layout, and the mummy they had seen presumably still arrayed with his treasures, of what they found they would say nothing. Only the inscribed plaque, which they could not read, would they reveal – but none in the group could read it, either.
They were at last ready to leave. Barrock continued to lie unconscious and near to death.
“I grow weary of carrying him,” Desu said.
“Shall we leave him behind?” Locke asked.
“We should at least take his gear,” Manveru added.
“I don’t think we should just leave him here,” Desu said.
“Well,” said Locke, “we could roll him down the hill.”
Thus it was that Barrock the Hunter was stripped naked and pushed to the brink of the Valley of Serpents. They then pushed him down the hill, and watched his body disappear into the underbrush.
“Well, that’s that,” said Locke. They each picked up a portion of Barrock’s gear, then headed toward the north side of the pass.
They were all better in the morning, save Barrock, who continued to feel ill.
Once more they headed into the oppressive forest of the Valley of Serpents. The sense of watchfulness, combined with the thick growth, played upon their nerves. Again, Desu seemed immune, and Manveru nearly so, as though the forest recognized their druidic nature and allowed them to pass nearly unmolested.
The path left the forest about a mile aay from the treeless, boulder-strewn hill they had seen from the pass above. The halted for a short while, gathering their courage against the dark forest behind them.
From the pass, the Serpent Stone had seemed like a single longstone of moderate size – now that they were about two miles away, it appeared to be the work of giants. At least fifty feet tall, it towered over the other shards of stone on the hill. It seemed likely to have been of natural origin, because at least part of it must have lain beneath the hill to hold it upright, especially as it leaned somewhat to the east.
As they approached the hill, they could see the Lakashi pilgrims performing some ceremony at its summit. Catori was before the colossal stone, arms upraised. . Dena, Ituha, Mansi, and Sokwe assisted her. Altsoba and Amadahy, the two archers, stood some way off, keeping watch. Amadahy gave a piercing whistle as she saw the group begin the long climb uphill.
“You profane this sacred place with your presence!” Catori shouted at them. “Go now, and thank the Spirits they allow you to leave with your life!”
“Throw down your weapons, and perhaps we will leave you with your life!” Nift shouted back.
Altsoba and Amadahy loosed a volley of arrows, one of them striking Barrock, the stone arrowhead cutting into his skin even as he twisted to prevent the arrow from lodging in muscle.
“Enough,” Desu said. He reached into the Green and commanded the grass on the hilltop to ensnare the Lakashi women. He warned his comrades, for the entangling plants would not distinguish between friend or foe; it would attempt to hold fast any that entered the spell’s area of effect.
Apart from Altsoba and Amadahy, it seemed that the women were armed with staves only. Eden bent her own bow, as the two druids – Desu and Manveru – prepared their slings. Locke and Nift brought out the crossbows they had taken from the kobolds of the Dragon’s Lair caves, while Barrock ran straight into Desu’s spell effect, and was entangled.
There followed a battle of missile fire. The Laksahi women closest to Catori closed around her where they could, trying to protect her as she backed into the Serpent Stone. Catori chanted and sang spells, but they seemed to be ineffective, save to heal her wounds.
One by one, the archers fell. Dena fell. Catori, struck by a sling stone, slumped to the ground, and the other women surrendered. They threw down their staves.
They could see now that the Serpent Stone was a single spar of black basalt thrust up from the ground, six feet in length and width, and about sixty feet tall. It was obvious that the stone was natural. Even so, it had been decorated over the centuries with carved whorls and images reminiscent of entwined serpents, double-headed snakes and dragons.
Desu cautioned his friends to wait until the spirit that animated the grass departed. As soon as the entangling effect was gone, the three remaining women – Ituha, Mansi, and Sokwe – threw down their staves and ran away, down the far side of the hill. Nift and Barrock made to give chase, but Desu called him back.
“It’s Catori we want,” he said. “I want to know why she betrayed us.”
Desu knelt by Catori, but leaped back as a small viper curled upon her chest struck at him.
The Serpent Stone radiated an almost magnetic power – although it seemed more to attract people than their metal gear. Desu could feel its pull without difficulty.
Manveru came forward. “Who are you?” he asked in the Serpent Tongue.
“I am Askook,” the small viper hissed. “You will not harm the Mistress! If you touch her, I shall strike!”
“Can you convince it to let us heal her?”
“I’ll try,” Manveru said, but it was not easy. The little snake wasn’t terribly intelligent. In the end, it only agreed to allow them to touch its mistress when Manveru carefully explained that, without aid, its mistress would die.
“But if you lie, I shall strike!”
As soon as Manveru got the tiny snake to slither off of Catori, Desu stepped up and examined her. He reached into the Green and used a portion of his power to knit her wounds, bringing her to consciousness. Desu watched carefully. It took Catori a few seconds to take in her circumstances. When she was fully aware, he asked her, “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you betray us?” Desu could not keep the poison from his voice.
“You should have died,” Catori said, her voice dripping with contempt. “It should have been enough for you to serve, and to depart when your time came. You need to learn your place, man.”
“Now it is you who shall die!” Nift said.
“Perhaps, but if I die it will be restoring the holiness of this sacred place, and the spirits will avenge me. You are not allowed to walk here and live! Better if you fell now upon your swords than continue to profane this valley.”
She stood slowly, making no sudden moves. She then leaned back into the Serpent Stone. “If you cured me, you wish me healthy. I am going to cast a charm now that will knit my wounds. Do not seek to stop me.”
The adventurer’s stayed wary as Catori spoke rapid words in an arcane tongue. Her wounds began to close and heal. When she was done, she opened her eyes and looked at Desu. “I thank you,” she said. As she spoke, Desu felt needle-sharp fangs bite into his ankle. Askook, the tiny viper, had poisoned him.
Desu danced back, trying to strike the tiny sepent before he was struck again. “What are you doing?”
Catori drew a dagger. “What you should be doing, Lakashi-man-who-does-not-know-his-place.” She looked at Eden. “What you should be doing, Sister.”
“I don’t think so,” said Eden.
“We would have let you live!” Desu said.
“Do you think I could live, and allow you to desicrate this sacred place? While there is breath in me, I will strike at you!”
“Enough.” Manveru’s sling bolt dropped Catori once more. Desu danced back, was bit again, and then managed to strike Askook a mortal wound. Manveru knelt by Catori. “She is still breathing,” he said.
“No more,” said Desu, and he killed her.
“Hey!” said Nift. “I was hoping to have some fun with her first.”
Desu looked on him with distain. “Are you a gnome, or one of the goblinfolk?” he asked derisively. “She did not wish to live if we entered the Valley of Serpents and lived, and I have honored her request.” He looked down upon her body. “As I should.”
Nift caught the disgusted looks of his comrades. “What? I just…” He shrugged defeatedly, and went to loot the dead.
Manveru stepped forward, and placed his hand upon the Serpent Stone. There was no part of the stone that had not been touched by carving, and much of the work had been worn away and redone over the ages. He could feel its power, a great nexus of ley lines that radiated magic almost a dozen yards away. His hair felt as though it should be standing on end.
“What is it?” asked Nift.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Desu asked.
“Nothing.”
“I would swear from your expression that there was something.”
“No, nothing.”
“Very well.”
There was little on the bodies of the dead, for the pilgrims were not wealthy. The group decided not to pursue those who had flown, but instead returned to the pass, going through the forest. Though they were again assailed by a sense of watchfulness and oppression, it affected them less.
Perhaps it was some spirit of the place that sought to punish them, or prevent them from leaving, but as they passed through the forest, Barrock was attacked by something that seemed to be a leopard, only it was made of branches and twisting vines. The group was able to defeat it, but Barrock was sorely wounded and lay unconscious. They bore him upon their shoulders up, out of the valley.
They camped in the pass one last time. In the morning, Manveru found himself contemplating the three-foot wide tunnel in the side of the cliff. “I could get up there,” he said.
“I am poisoned and ill,” said Desu. “I’m not going up there.”
“Will you wait for me if I go?”
“Two hours,” said Locke.
“I’ll go with you,” said Eden.
They only had to climb twenty feet up the sloping cliff. The angle was not too severe, and there were plenty of handholds, so it was a simple task. Looking into the hole, Manveru saw a narrow tunnel sloping downward for about ten feet or so before opening into a larger area. The tunnel was lined with old cobwebs, but there was no sign of living creatures, apart from tiny insects and miniscule spiders.
Manveru pulled himself into the tunnel, and crawled into the larger space.
The tunnel was lined with slabs of stone, and slabs of stone made up the ceiling. After ten feet, it opened into a circular chamber some twenty feet in diameter. The spiralling ceiling of stone was a mere five feet high at its highest point. Hearing Eden coming up behind him, Manveru stepped in to make room.
The chamber was littered with old bones, and with the spider-wrapped, dried carcasses of small forest animals. The two Lakashi the spiders had killed – Olathe and Motega, Catori had called them – had apparently been a man and a woman. They had been dragged in here and consumed.
There was another three-foot passage opposite the entry tunnel. Manveru looked down it; it ended after about five feet with a stone slab.
Moving down the tunnel, Manveru tried to shift the slab. It was heavy, but it moved, revealing a small chamber, just a little more than seven feet in diameter. This was obviously a burial chamber, for ancient mouldering bones were laid out on a small stone slab.
Manveru entered and looked around. Various urns and clay pots in the chamber held the goods that the deceased had brought into the afterlife with him. Although many of these things had long ago turned to dust, Manveru found several interesting items: many amber beads, apparently once part of a necklace; an ivory ring carved with the crude likeness of a cat; a crudely carved soapstone owl, and a ring carved from bone.
Bringing these things into the first chamber, Manveru gave the bone ring and some of the beads to Eden. They then looked at the chamber walls. Soon they discovered two more stones that looked as though they might shift.
Behind the stone slab to the northeast, they saw a three foot section of passage, opening into a small chamber no more than five feet in diameter. Small animals had crept into this place, disturbing the bones of the dead. They could hear several mice squeaking as they sought to hide within the shattered remnants of old burial urns.
Again they searched, finding a handful of amber beads. They also found a piece of corroded brass, upon which were pressed letters they could not read. Finally, they found a pair of jade earrings shaped like tiny fish. Once they were back to the central chamber, Eden spoke an incantation to learn which of their treasures might be enchanted. Both rings, and the earrings, glowed faintly to her eyes. She put the earrings on.
It was much more difficult to shift the stone leading to the southwestern chamber, but with some effort they were able to shift it.
A scent of age, spices, and must wafted out of the tunnel. Behind the stone slab was a three-foot section of passage, three feet wide and three feet high. After that, they could see a tiny, low chamber perhaps five feet across. Obviously, that chamber had never been disturbed – the buried dead had been mummified on his stone slab, and they could still make out the spirals and waves of the tattoos he once proudly sported.
Although several clay urns had been buried in the chamber as well, Manveru and Eden returned the stone without entering that place.
“I have no wish to disturb a mummy,” said Manveru. Eden agreed.
Of course, once they had returned, everyone wanted to know what they had discovered in the small crypt. Yet, though Manveru and Eden were willing to describe the layout, and the mummy they had seen presumably still arrayed with his treasures, of what they found they would say nothing. Only the inscribed plaque, which they could not read, would they reveal – but none in the group could read it, either.
They were at last ready to leave. Barrock continued to lie unconscious and near to death.
“I grow weary of carrying him,” Desu said.
“Shall we leave him behind?” Locke asked.
“We should at least take his gear,” Manveru added.
“I don’t think we should just leave him here,” Desu said.
“Well,” said Locke, “we could roll him down the hill.”
Thus it was that Barrock the Hunter was stripped naked and pushed to the brink of the Valley of Serpents. They then pushed him down the hill, and watched his body disappear into the underbrush.
“Well, that’s that,” said Locke. They each picked up a portion of Barrock’s gear, then headed toward the north side of the pass.
Raven Crowking
First Post
Twelth Session
The party moved through the narrow cut of the Spider Pass, away from the Serpent Stone and the Valley of Snakes. For a brief while, the roadway went upward, toward the highest point of the narrow pass. Then it began to cut its way down the steep hill in a number of zags and reversals. It was far less strenuous going down than up, but it still required care as a misstep could have severe consequences, and they were following little more than a footpath. At last, the group reached the ancient roadway they had traveled with the Lakashi pilgrims.
As they looked at the straight, ancient road, they realized that they were uncertain which direction to go. None of them could remember which way they had turned off the road when they had gone onto the path leading to the valley. After a bit of terse discussion, they decided to go to the left.
As the sky grew darker, it became clear that they had not chosen correctly. They never saw sight nor sign of the cave where they had spent the night with the pilgrims. Moreover, the as they went on the pines that thrust up through the old road stones became more numerous, so that it was sometimes difficult to follow the road.
That night, wolves approached their camp, though the fire kept them at bay.
In the morning, they continued on the westward way. They were occasionally forced to ford small streams that now cut through the path, and more than once they looked down through breaks in the roadway, to see water flowing in the ground far below them. They hurried on.
As it began to grow dark, they lost the roadway altogether. It ended in a stone fence, which they followed to the right until they could find a gap. They had come to the farmers’ fields outside of Long Archer.
In that wilderness town, the village gates closed with the setting of the sun. They were unsure that they would be admitted until morning, so they went to the nearest farmhouse, apologized for trespassing, and asked for lodging. That night, they were fed bacon and stale bread. They camped in the farmer’s barn.
In the morning, Desu walked along the stone fence, looking to see if there were any more signs of wolves. He found none. “A wolf would have made a potent ally,” he said. “I should have befriended one when they approached our camp the night before last.”
They gave the farmer their thanks, and some small coin for his generosity. Turning toward the river, they approached the wooden palisade surrounding Long Archer. It was too early in the year for farmer’s markets, so there was little traffic at the East River Gate. They were soon within the town.
They got rooms at the North Gate Inn, where Locke had first met Hrum. It seemed long ago, now, although surely it had been little more than two months ago. Then they went into the markets, looking for places where they might sell the extra equipment, and some of the treasures, that they had acquired.
The party moved through the narrow cut of the Spider Pass, away from the Serpent Stone and the Valley of Snakes. For a brief while, the roadway went upward, toward the highest point of the narrow pass. Then it began to cut its way down the steep hill in a number of zags and reversals. It was far less strenuous going down than up, but it still required care as a misstep could have severe consequences, and they were following little more than a footpath. At last, the group reached the ancient roadway they had traveled with the Lakashi pilgrims.
As they looked at the straight, ancient road, they realized that they were uncertain which direction to go. None of them could remember which way they had turned off the road when they had gone onto the path leading to the valley. After a bit of terse discussion, they decided to go to the left.
As the sky grew darker, it became clear that they had not chosen correctly. They never saw sight nor sign of the cave where they had spent the night with the pilgrims. Moreover, the as they went on the pines that thrust up through the old road stones became more numerous, so that it was sometimes difficult to follow the road.
That night, wolves approached their camp, though the fire kept them at bay.
In the morning, they continued on the westward way. They were occasionally forced to ford small streams that now cut through the path, and more than once they looked down through breaks in the roadway, to see water flowing in the ground far below them. They hurried on.
As it began to grow dark, they lost the roadway altogether. It ended in a stone fence, which they followed to the right until they could find a gap. They had come to the farmers’ fields outside of Long Archer.
In that wilderness town, the village gates closed with the setting of the sun. They were unsure that they would be admitted until morning, so they went to the nearest farmhouse, apologized for trespassing, and asked for lodging. That night, they were fed bacon and stale bread. They camped in the farmer’s barn.
In the morning, Desu walked along the stone fence, looking to see if there were any more signs of wolves. He found none. “A wolf would have made a potent ally,” he said. “I should have befriended one when they approached our camp the night before last.”
They gave the farmer their thanks, and some small coin for his generosity. Turning toward the river, they approached the wooden palisade surrounding Long Archer. It was too early in the year for farmer’s markets, so there was little traffic at the East River Gate. They were soon within the town.
They got rooms at the North Gate Inn, where Locke had first met Hrum. It seemed long ago, now, although surely it had been little more than two months ago. Then they went into the markets, looking for places where they might sell the extra equipment, and some of the treasures, that they had acquired.
Raven Crowking
First Post
Note
Thus ended the second arc of the Lakelands campaign. As you can tell, that arc was one of wandering around, finding out more about the world, and engaging in minor adventures. It also pointed out a few adventuring locations that the group didn't explore at the time, or was unable to finish exploring due to inexperience:
1) The Tower of Amoreth the Arcane in Selby-by-the-Water,
2) The sewers in Selby-by-the-Water,
3) The half-submerged ruins in Selby-by-the-Water,
4) The Dry Catacombs (and, by extension, Wet Catacombs) in Selby-by-the-Water,
5) The Green Howe south of Selby-by-the-Water, toward Rookhaven,
6) The ruined building where they fought wolves and skeletons,
7) The old stoneworks they could see on the far side of the Valley of Serpents, and
8) The caves under the ancient roadway.
In addition, they didn't explore all of the caverns in the Dragon's Lair, site of their first adventure.
As you can see, I prefer to allow characters to have a lot of options as to what they do!
The next story arc sees the group hunting orcs near Long Archer, then go after the Bonewardens.
Daniel
Thus ended the second arc of the Lakelands campaign. As you can tell, that arc was one of wandering around, finding out more about the world, and engaging in minor adventures. It also pointed out a few adventuring locations that the group didn't explore at the time, or was unable to finish exploring due to inexperience:
1) The Tower of Amoreth the Arcane in Selby-by-the-Water,
2) The sewers in Selby-by-the-Water,
3) The half-submerged ruins in Selby-by-the-Water,
4) The Dry Catacombs (and, by extension, Wet Catacombs) in Selby-by-the-Water,
5) The Green Howe south of Selby-by-the-Water, toward Rookhaven,
6) The ruined building where they fought wolves and skeletons,
7) The old stoneworks they could see on the far side of the Valley of Serpents, and
8) The caves under the ancient roadway.
In addition, they didn't explore all of the caverns in the Dragon's Lair, site of their first adventure.
As you can see, I prefer to allow characters to have a lot of options as to what they do!
The next story arc sees the group hunting orcs near Long Archer, then go after the Bonewardens.
Daniel
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