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<blockquote data-quote="PHDungeon" data-source="post: 5234604" data-attributes="member: 86320"><p>Our campaign has been in a bit of flux over the past month, and the players are a little behind in their journals. Here's one of my own to help get things caught up.</p><p></p><p>Having rescued Briannah from being sacrificed to the Slumberer by the Cult of the Elemental Eye, the heroes found themselves back in Fallcrest. More time passed, and the companions kept themselves busy helping to prepare the town for what would surely be a difficult winter. The fall harvest was a lean one, for the fields had been neglected over the course of the summer due to the ever present threat posed by orcs to any who traveled beyond the town’s walls. Derren spent much time dreaming of and preparing himself for the day when he would head north to the remains of Androsax Hall and reclaim his ancestral lands from the claws of the red dragon Rathnir. He was insistent that it happen before the onset of winter, but the expedition was continually delayed as the heroes worked to help the town.</p><p></p><p>One day during that fall, a lone minotaur wandered into town. His name was Turak and he was a member of the Golden Horn tribe- a clan of minotaurs who resided in a labyrinth in the Dawnforge mountains not far from Hammerfast. Turak was a minotaur looking for answers. His clanhold had recently been razed and an important relic stolen from the heart of the maze. He had been away from home when the attack had occurred, leading a warband against hill giants. The minotaurs found themselves in battle against a large force of giants. It was a battle they could not win and Turak’s warriors had given their lives to see him survive, for he was the chosen of his clan, the minotaur who would be the next Guardian of the Maze. The sole survivor of the battle against the giants, Turak had returned home only to find that his clanhold had been destroyed and his kin slain. The attacker had clearly been some sort of giant, possibly a titan, for it had smashed straight through the walls of the maze to its heart- the place where the clan’s most sacred relics were held. The being had crushed all those who tried to stand in its way, leaving one minotaur corpse after another in its wake. Turak was devastated by the carnage, and the rage of Baphomet, which he worked so hard to suppress had been stirred inside of him. He had still to undergo the final stages of his training as the Guardian’s apprentice, the stage that would have told him the nature of the sacred relic that his clan protected. Only his master, the clan Guardian, knew the secret, and it was his master’s sacred duty to protect the relic and train the next guardian. Turak’s master was now dead, and the secret of relic had died with him. Thus, even though he had not completed the final initiation, and even though the sacred relic was gone and his kin dead, Turak was now the new Guardian. It was up to him to find out what had happened and reclaim his tribe’s lost relic. </p><p></p><p>He began his search in nearby Hammerfast, and there he heard some wild tales that had drifted up from town of Fallcrest. These tales spoke of a hulking titan of earth that had emerged from caverns beneath the town. The titan had carved a swath of destruction through Fallcrest’s high town district before leaving the town and disappearing into the wilderness. Rumors seemed to suggest that the creature had headed east towards the Dawnforge Mountains. Turak doubted that this event and the destruction of his clanhold could be unrelated. In all likelihood this titan of earth that had appeared in Fallcrest was the same creature that slaughtered his kin and stole the sacred relic. The time had come for Turak to pay a visit to the lands of men. He traveled from Hammerfast to Fallcrest, and in Fallcrest he met a band of human heroes that seemed to know more about the titan than anyone else. They agreed to help the minotaur track down the titan, but first he would help them.</p><p></p><p>Late that fall Derren led Bjorn, Bella and Turak north up the Nentir river to recover the Anrdrosax manor from Rathnir the dragon. Vesna the Viking daughter of Jarl Sturgleson had taken her longship and sailed back south to procure food supplies that would help see the town through the winter, and Deryl had remained in Fallcrest to attend Briannah, for Derren could not bear the thought of any more harm coming to her in his absence.</p><p></p><p>The Androsax manor was not that far north of Fallcrest. It was clear as they neared the place that it was within the territory of a red dragon, for the surrounded countryside was a scorched ruin. The dragon had marked its territory for all to see. Finally, late in the afternoon, near the end of a hard day of travel they spotted the manor up ahead. It sat on a bluff overlooking the river, giving it a commanding view of the countryside. If the dragon had made its lair in the place, it would surely be able to see the heroes coming with ease.</p><p></p><p>However, it was not the dragon that first spotted them. A small flock of harpies emerged the keep’s crumbling watchtower and flew towards the heroes. It seemed that the dragon had some minions. Before the harpies could get close, Bella had her crossbow up and aimed. She fired on the first of the foul creatures, clipping its wing and causing it to plummet to the ground. With uncanny speed she reloaded the weapon and put two more bolts into the wretched thing. The others suddenly lost their urge to confront the heroes, for it seemed unlikely that they would be able to get close to them before the markswoman had shredded them with her bow. They reeled in the air and hastily flew back to the keep where they would in all likelihood report to the dragon.</p><p></p><p>The companions decided to fall back and take an extensive detour that would allow them to circle around behind the manor and approach it from the rear. They circled so widely that they made camp that night several miles north of the manor, and if the dragon had bothered to look for them it had not found them. Yet their rest that night was not a peaceful one. They found themselves ambushed by a bloodthirsty band of bugbears. This was their first true test of battle with their new ally Turak. The minotaur proved himself to be a capable and worthy companion, and the heroes made short work of the goblinoids.</p><p></p><p>The next day they made their approach on the Androsax manor. They scale up the backside of the hill and approached the gatehouse of the keep. Bella had already sent her familiar Cullen to scout out the place, and he had found that the gatehouse was home to a trio of hulking feral minotaurs. A hag of some sort had taken over an out building in the bailey that had once been a chapel to Roa, and she was busy practicing some sort of blasphemous religious rite with the aid of another massive minotaur. Cullen had not investigated the main keep, but it was presumed that Rathnir made his lair within, though he had yet to make an appearance. The minotaurs in the gatehouse were busy fighting amongst themselves, which seemed to be their main source of entertainment. Therefore, it seemed likely that if the heroes could engage them in the gatehouse and keep them contained within, they could hopefully slay the beasts without drawing the dragon, harpies or hag into the battle.</p><p>Unfortunately, this tactic failed. Bjorn led the assault, summoning the power of Thor to strike a mighty blow with his hammer that resulted in a thunderous clap that shook the entire gatehouse. The minotaurs inside were sent reeling by the divine power of blow, but they recovered quickly and engaged the heroes. These shaggy beasts were far larger than even Turak, and their curving horns were wicked sharp and long. They thrashed with the savagery of Baphomet himself, and they used their horns to hurl heroes out of the gatehouse and down the hillside. It was likely that it had been the initial thunderclap that had altered hag and her minotaur henchman to the fact that something was amiss, and it wasn’t long before she joined the fight along with the three harpies. Even Rathnir emerged from the keep, but the dragon took up a position overlooking the courtyard and seemed to content to watch the show. The presence of the dragon kept the heroes fighting in the gatehouse, for they were fighting for their lives as it was, and bringing the dragon into the battle would surely have spelled their doom. In the end they managed to fell their foes, but it was one of the most grueling battles they had ever been through. They were bloodied and spent, and to make matters worse the dragon awaited them. The situation seemed hopeless. Then Bella came up with an idea. Most of the fighting had occurred within the gatehouse, and though the dragon had been watching closely from outside it would only have been able to see bits and pieces of the action…</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="PHDungeon, post: 5234604, member: 86320"] Our campaign has been in a bit of flux over the past month, and the players are a little behind in their journals. Here's one of my own to help get things caught up. Having rescued Briannah from being sacrificed to the Slumberer by the Cult of the Elemental Eye, the heroes found themselves back in Fallcrest. More time passed, and the companions kept themselves busy helping to prepare the town for what would surely be a difficult winter. The fall harvest was a lean one, for the fields had been neglected over the course of the summer due to the ever present threat posed by orcs to any who traveled beyond the town’s walls. Derren spent much time dreaming of and preparing himself for the day when he would head north to the remains of Androsax Hall and reclaim his ancestral lands from the claws of the red dragon Rathnir. He was insistent that it happen before the onset of winter, but the expedition was continually delayed as the heroes worked to help the town. One day during that fall, a lone minotaur wandered into town. His name was Turak and he was a member of the Golden Horn tribe- a clan of minotaurs who resided in a labyrinth in the Dawnforge mountains not far from Hammerfast. Turak was a minotaur looking for answers. His clanhold had recently been razed and an important relic stolen from the heart of the maze. He had been away from home when the attack had occurred, leading a warband against hill giants. The minotaurs found themselves in battle against a large force of giants. It was a battle they could not win and Turak’s warriors had given their lives to see him survive, for he was the chosen of his clan, the minotaur who would be the next Guardian of the Maze. The sole survivor of the battle against the giants, Turak had returned home only to find that his clanhold had been destroyed and his kin slain. The attacker had clearly been some sort of giant, possibly a titan, for it had smashed straight through the walls of the maze to its heart- the place where the clan’s most sacred relics were held. The being had crushed all those who tried to stand in its way, leaving one minotaur corpse after another in its wake. Turak was devastated by the carnage, and the rage of Baphomet, which he worked so hard to suppress had been stirred inside of him. He had still to undergo the final stages of his training as the Guardian’s apprentice, the stage that would have told him the nature of the sacred relic that his clan protected. Only his master, the clan Guardian, knew the secret, and it was his master’s sacred duty to protect the relic and train the next guardian. Turak’s master was now dead, and the secret of relic had died with him. Thus, even though he had not completed the final initiation, and even though the sacred relic was gone and his kin dead, Turak was now the new Guardian. It was up to him to find out what had happened and reclaim his tribe’s lost relic. He began his search in nearby Hammerfast, and there he heard some wild tales that had drifted up from town of Fallcrest. These tales spoke of a hulking titan of earth that had emerged from caverns beneath the town. The titan had carved a swath of destruction through Fallcrest’s high town district before leaving the town and disappearing into the wilderness. Rumors seemed to suggest that the creature had headed east towards the Dawnforge Mountains. Turak doubted that this event and the destruction of his clanhold could be unrelated. In all likelihood this titan of earth that had appeared in Fallcrest was the same creature that slaughtered his kin and stole the sacred relic. The time had come for Turak to pay a visit to the lands of men. He traveled from Hammerfast to Fallcrest, and in Fallcrest he met a band of human heroes that seemed to know more about the titan than anyone else. They agreed to help the minotaur track down the titan, but first he would help them. Late that fall Derren led Bjorn, Bella and Turak north up the Nentir river to recover the Anrdrosax manor from Rathnir the dragon. Vesna the Viking daughter of Jarl Sturgleson had taken her longship and sailed back south to procure food supplies that would help see the town through the winter, and Deryl had remained in Fallcrest to attend Briannah, for Derren could not bear the thought of any more harm coming to her in his absence. The Androsax manor was not that far north of Fallcrest. It was clear as they neared the place that it was within the territory of a red dragon, for the surrounded countryside was a scorched ruin. The dragon had marked its territory for all to see. Finally, late in the afternoon, near the end of a hard day of travel they spotted the manor up ahead. It sat on a bluff overlooking the river, giving it a commanding view of the countryside. If the dragon had made its lair in the place, it would surely be able to see the heroes coming with ease. However, it was not the dragon that first spotted them. A small flock of harpies emerged the keep’s crumbling watchtower and flew towards the heroes. It seemed that the dragon had some minions. Before the harpies could get close, Bella had her crossbow up and aimed. She fired on the first of the foul creatures, clipping its wing and causing it to plummet to the ground. With uncanny speed she reloaded the weapon and put two more bolts into the wretched thing. The others suddenly lost their urge to confront the heroes, for it seemed unlikely that they would be able to get close to them before the markswoman had shredded them with her bow. They reeled in the air and hastily flew back to the keep where they would in all likelihood report to the dragon. The companions decided to fall back and take an extensive detour that would allow them to circle around behind the manor and approach it from the rear. They circled so widely that they made camp that night several miles north of the manor, and if the dragon had bothered to look for them it had not found them. Yet their rest that night was not a peaceful one. They found themselves ambushed by a bloodthirsty band of bugbears. This was their first true test of battle with their new ally Turak. The minotaur proved himself to be a capable and worthy companion, and the heroes made short work of the goblinoids. The next day they made their approach on the Androsax manor. They scale up the backside of the hill and approached the gatehouse of the keep. Bella had already sent her familiar Cullen to scout out the place, and he had found that the gatehouse was home to a trio of hulking feral minotaurs. A hag of some sort had taken over an out building in the bailey that had once been a chapel to Roa, and she was busy practicing some sort of blasphemous religious rite with the aid of another massive minotaur. Cullen had not investigated the main keep, but it was presumed that Rathnir made his lair within, though he had yet to make an appearance. The minotaurs in the gatehouse were busy fighting amongst themselves, which seemed to be their main source of entertainment. Therefore, it seemed likely that if the heroes could engage them in the gatehouse and keep them contained within, they could hopefully slay the beasts without drawing the dragon, harpies or hag into the battle. Unfortunately, this tactic failed. Bjorn led the assault, summoning the power of Thor to strike a mighty blow with his hammer that resulted in a thunderous clap that shook the entire gatehouse. The minotaurs inside were sent reeling by the divine power of blow, but they recovered quickly and engaged the heroes. These shaggy beasts were far larger than even Turak, and their curving horns were wicked sharp and long. They thrashed with the savagery of Baphomet himself, and they used their horns to hurl heroes out of the gatehouse and down the hillside. It was likely that it had been the initial thunderclap that had altered hag and her minotaur henchman to the fact that something was amiss, and it wasn’t long before she joined the fight along with the three harpies. Even Rathnir emerged from the keep, but the dragon took up a position overlooking the courtyard and seemed to content to watch the show. The presence of the dragon kept the heroes fighting in the gatehouse, for they were fighting for their lives as it was, and bringing the dragon into the battle would surely have spelled their doom. In the end they managed to fell their foes, but it was one of the most grueling battles they had ever been through. They were bloodied and spent, and to make matters worse the dragon awaited them. The situation seemed hopeless. Then Bella came up with an idea. Most of the fighting had occurred within the gatehouse, and though the dragon had been watching closely from outside it would only have been able to see bits and pieces of the action… [/QUOTE]
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