Brakkart
First Post
DM's Log of Session Thirty Eight
As the party made their way through the southern gatehouse, so the remainder of the tribe fled into the jungles, they being mostly females and children as well as a handful of warriors not willing to try their luck against a group that had just massacred their way through the cream of the tribes fighters and the chieftain too and could clearly continue to fight after that ordeal. They soon find a large hall and aside from the treasure piled on on a dias/nest at one end of the room, the discover a dark skinned man on the fungles tied up next to the dias, who after they have removed his bonds and gag introduces himself as Masembe, a druid of the Black Jungles and a sworn enemy of the Yuan-ti. Deciding to take a day to rest and recover from the wounds, the group organised itself into teams of two and swept through the gatehouse, systematically looting the bodies of the fallen, and recovering a sizeable haul of treasure and magic items.
On the next day (Nightal 15th), the group tallied up their haul and Aeron was able to identify the new unknown items in addtion to some of those taken from Gyllipus's body, the group deciding that their need in the battles to come outweighed the wizards need to be buried with all his possessions, they laying him to rest beneath a hastily built stone cairn in his finest clothes with only his unvaluable non-magical items as grave goods. During the ceremony outside, Masembe was reunited with Bends-Low-Branches his ape companion, which he nicknamed Ben for the convinience of the group. With the items identified, the group used the dice Ki had taken from gyllipus to determine who got what, and the haul was divided thusly:
Aeron - Amulet of Natural Armor +2, Hewards Handy Haversack and 2 potions of Cure Light Wounds
Ash - +1 Vicious Greatsword and a Hat of Disguise
Masembe - Peraipt of Wisdom +2, he then refusing another roll of the dice.
Zamtap - Ring of Major Cold Resistance and Gyllipus's spellstoring Rapier +1
Ki - Bracers of Armor +3 and Goggles of Minute Seeing
Jebodiah - Heavy Crossbow +2, Handaxe +2, a potion of Cat's Grace and 2 of Cure Light Wounds
The party haggled over various other items from the haul and it was decided that the wand of Cure Moderate Wounds would be best held by Ki, as he was the best suited to get through enemy ranks to use it on a fallen comrade.
On Nightal 16th the group set out from the gatehouse into the jungles, heading south towards the distant city, with Ben acting as scout on the ground, and Masembe flying high above as a condor, his keen hearing picking up a worrying sound, dragons roaring and calling to one another. Landing he shifted back into human form and explained what the noise the group could hear all around was, Aeron then straining and listening, understanding the language of the great lizards and his eyes went wide as he understood what he was hearing. He explained to the others that the dragons were calling to one another to gather together into a Flight and go north to attack the city on the coast...
"Tashluta!" the group whispered almost as one, keeping quiet as more and more dragons gave voice to their desire to join in the attack, Aeron swiftly realising that they were listening to a Rage of Dragons forming, a trace of savage cruelty and madness in the bellowed roars echoing through the trees around them. "We have to send warning!" he hissed, Zamtap nodding and stating that he could do that, but not until the next morning when he had time to pray for spells.
"They'll be almost on top of the city by then at the speed they fly!" groaned Ash in alarm.
"Better an hour or two's warning than none at all" was his curt reply, the priests face speaking volumes as it was clear this was the best he could hope to do. The good humour wiped from the group as they headed on their way south, Masembe masking their trail with a Pass Without Trace spell, the roars growing in pitch around them and then abruptly soaring upwards, as a couple Green and Black Dragons took to the wing and flew away towards the north, more and more dragons joining them above the jungle canopy, the flight assembling and winging away towards the coast.
The group travelled on in silence for the rest of the day, and camped beside a bubbling brook in a small clearing. Ash and Masembe went hunting for food, the paladin shooting a small boar and the druid preparing the meal, while Aeron masked their campsite with a Leomunds Tiny Hut (made to look like a green dome), to give the group some protection against being noticed. The group decided on which watches they would take, and went to bed for the night then.
It was near morning when Zamtap and Ki were on watch that their wariness was "rewarded" as they could hear the sounds of hissing from all round in the jungle undergrowth, but try as they might neither priest nor monk could make out the source of it. After a minute or so of fruitless looking, they decided to wake the others and as they did so, so they were attacked, several hidden snakes shifting form to rapidly become bipedal lizards with a single hooked claw on each foot and cunning intelligence in their beady eyes.
Ki activated his Shield of Faith brooch and tumbled through the undergrowth then to put himself behind one of the Ti-Khana Velociraptors, while Ash went for the more direct approach, slaughtering one of the altered creatures with his new greatsword, the paladin forgoing his normal tower shield to concentrate his efforts on taking down these creatures as fast as he was able. The Raptors screeched then and surged forwards into the group, their claws and bites raking at Zamtap, Ki and Masembe, injuring the monk and druid both, but finding no way through the priests armour plating. Backing away, Masembe cast a spell on himself, his skin altering to become like bark, as Ben slammed a fist into a Raptor and Zamtap swapped helmets and put on the one enchanted with contininous light so that all could see what was going on, the shed light illuminating the Raptor fighting Ki, which Aeron weakened with a Ray of Enfeeblement. Jebodiah simply rolled over and snored some more.
Ki's dagger missed and he ducked back under the shadow of the Tiny Hut, while Ash chopped down the Raptor that Ben had punched. A Raptor leapt at Zamtap then, raking the priest with its hind talons, the Gondite panicing as the Ti-Khana creatures aversion effect took hold, he fleeing into the jungle in terror of snakes, closely followed by Masembe who also succumbs, he sending a Creeping Cold spell at the nearest Raptor but the spell fizzles, and Ben dodges the snapping teeth of another of the altered dinosaurs. "What do you fear then?" Aeron muttered as he sent a Phantasmal Killer at another of the creatures, the spell killing the suddenly terrified dinaosaurs heart giving out and it collapsing to the floor, to a smirked "Me of course!" from the genasi.
Stepping back out of the hut, Ki deftly stabbed a Raptor, while Ash took up a defensive stance beside Aeron, inside the shelter. A pair of Raptors moved in on the monk then, easily flanking and tearing into him with claws, talons and poisonous bites. Deciding that greater numbers would win the day, Masembe began casting a spell to summon another ape, as Ben tripped and missed a punch at the creature he was fighting, though Zamtap didn't, a pistol shot ringing out as he shot it. Aeron smiled and turned to Ash, chanting and imbuing the paladin beside him with Bull's Strength.
Tumbling away from the pair of Raptors that were intent on eating him, ki drew his new wand and healed up some of the grevious wounds they had inflicted, as Ash stepped up beside one of them and sliced it to ribbons with his greatsword. The Raptor battling Ben ripped into the ape with jaws and claws, as another ape appeared behind it, the pair injuring the dinosaur trapped between them, as Masembe immediately set about summoning yet another ape to overwhelm his chosen foe. Zamtap activated his brooch of Lesser Vigor to start tending to his wounds, while Aeron chanted and gestured at one of the two remaining creatures, sending a Lesser Electric Orb at it, the orb missing, but the Raptor shifted back into snake form anyway and vanished amidst the jungle foliage.
As Ki again used the wand to see to his wounds, so Ash charged the Raptor that was between the two apes, getting slashed by talons in the process but running the twsted creation through. The group looked about for a while, but it was soon clear that the surviviing Raptor had fled, and they settled down to patch up wounds and finish their nights rest, the group groaning as one as they noticed then that Jebodiah hadn't even woken up!
DM's Notes:
Well they are on their way through the jungles and after being isolated from the world for the past tenday or so spent underground, they now have a hint at what is beginning to happen in the world at large, as the Year of Rogue Dragons is almost upon them, and the Rage is already beginning to claim the minds of dragons across Faerun (and possibly all of Toril). As will be seen, the events of the coming year will play a big part in the storyline to come.
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better!
As the party made their way through the southern gatehouse, so the remainder of the tribe fled into the jungles, they being mostly females and children as well as a handful of warriors not willing to try their luck against a group that had just massacred their way through the cream of the tribes fighters and the chieftain too and could clearly continue to fight after that ordeal. They soon find a large hall and aside from the treasure piled on on a dias/nest at one end of the room, the discover a dark skinned man on the fungles tied up next to the dias, who after they have removed his bonds and gag introduces himself as Masembe, a druid of the Black Jungles and a sworn enemy of the Yuan-ti. Deciding to take a day to rest and recover from the wounds, the group organised itself into teams of two and swept through the gatehouse, systematically looting the bodies of the fallen, and recovering a sizeable haul of treasure and magic items.
On the next day (Nightal 15th), the group tallied up their haul and Aeron was able to identify the new unknown items in addtion to some of those taken from Gyllipus's body, the group deciding that their need in the battles to come outweighed the wizards need to be buried with all his possessions, they laying him to rest beneath a hastily built stone cairn in his finest clothes with only his unvaluable non-magical items as grave goods. During the ceremony outside, Masembe was reunited with Bends-Low-Branches his ape companion, which he nicknamed Ben for the convinience of the group. With the items identified, the group used the dice Ki had taken from gyllipus to determine who got what, and the haul was divided thusly:
Aeron - Amulet of Natural Armor +2, Hewards Handy Haversack and 2 potions of Cure Light Wounds
Ash - +1 Vicious Greatsword and a Hat of Disguise
Masembe - Peraipt of Wisdom +2, he then refusing another roll of the dice.
Zamtap - Ring of Major Cold Resistance and Gyllipus's spellstoring Rapier +1
Ki - Bracers of Armor +3 and Goggles of Minute Seeing
Jebodiah - Heavy Crossbow +2, Handaxe +2, a potion of Cat's Grace and 2 of Cure Light Wounds
The party haggled over various other items from the haul and it was decided that the wand of Cure Moderate Wounds would be best held by Ki, as he was the best suited to get through enemy ranks to use it on a fallen comrade.
On Nightal 16th the group set out from the gatehouse into the jungles, heading south towards the distant city, with Ben acting as scout on the ground, and Masembe flying high above as a condor, his keen hearing picking up a worrying sound, dragons roaring and calling to one another. Landing he shifted back into human form and explained what the noise the group could hear all around was, Aeron then straining and listening, understanding the language of the great lizards and his eyes went wide as he understood what he was hearing. He explained to the others that the dragons were calling to one another to gather together into a Flight and go north to attack the city on the coast...
"Tashluta!" the group whispered almost as one, keeping quiet as more and more dragons gave voice to their desire to join in the attack, Aeron swiftly realising that they were listening to a Rage of Dragons forming, a trace of savage cruelty and madness in the bellowed roars echoing through the trees around them. "We have to send warning!" he hissed, Zamtap nodding and stating that he could do that, but not until the next morning when he had time to pray for spells.
"They'll be almost on top of the city by then at the speed they fly!" groaned Ash in alarm.
"Better an hour or two's warning than none at all" was his curt reply, the priests face speaking volumes as it was clear this was the best he could hope to do. The good humour wiped from the group as they headed on their way south, Masembe masking their trail with a Pass Without Trace spell, the roars growing in pitch around them and then abruptly soaring upwards, as a couple Green and Black Dragons took to the wing and flew away towards the north, more and more dragons joining them above the jungle canopy, the flight assembling and winging away towards the coast.
The group travelled on in silence for the rest of the day, and camped beside a bubbling brook in a small clearing. Ash and Masembe went hunting for food, the paladin shooting a small boar and the druid preparing the meal, while Aeron masked their campsite with a Leomunds Tiny Hut (made to look like a green dome), to give the group some protection against being noticed. The group decided on which watches they would take, and went to bed for the night then.
It was near morning when Zamtap and Ki were on watch that their wariness was "rewarded" as they could hear the sounds of hissing from all round in the jungle undergrowth, but try as they might neither priest nor monk could make out the source of it. After a minute or so of fruitless looking, they decided to wake the others and as they did so, so they were attacked, several hidden snakes shifting form to rapidly become bipedal lizards with a single hooked claw on each foot and cunning intelligence in their beady eyes.
Ki activated his Shield of Faith brooch and tumbled through the undergrowth then to put himself behind one of the Ti-Khana Velociraptors, while Ash went for the more direct approach, slaughtering one of the altered creatures with his new greatsword, the paladin forgoing his normal tower shield to concentrate his efforts on taking down these creatures as fast as he was able. The Raptors screeched then and surged forwards into the group, their claws and bites raking at Zamtap, Ki and Masembe, injuring the monk and druid both, but finding no way through the priests armour plating. Backing away, Masembe cast a spell on himself, his skin altering to become like bark, as Ben slammed a fist into a Raptor and Zamtap swapped helmets and put on the one enchanted with contininous light so that all could see what was going on, the shed light illuminating the Raptor fighting Ki, which Aeron weakened with a Ray of Enfeeblement. Jebodiah simply rolled over and snored some more.
Ki's dagger missed and he ducked back under the shadow of the Tiny Hut, while Ash chopped down the Raptor that Ben had punched. A Raptor leapt at Zamtap then, raking the priest with its hind talons, the Gondite panicing as the Ti-Khana creatures aversion effect took hold, he fleeing into the jungle in terror of snakes, closely followed by Masembe who also succumbs, he sending a Creeping Cold spell at the nearest Raptor but the spell fizzles, and Ben dodges the snapping teeth of another of the altered dinosaurs. "What do you fear then?" Aeron muttered as he sent a Phantasmal Killer at another of the creatures, the spell killing the suddenly terrified dinaosaurs heart giving out and it collapsing to the floor, to a smirked "Me of course!" from the genasi.
Stepping back out of the hut, Ki deftly stabbed a Raptor, while Ash took up a defensive stance beside Aeron, inside the shelter. A pair of Raptors moved in on the monk then, easily flanking and tearing into him with claws, talons and poisonous bites. Deciding that greater numbers would win the day, Masembe began casting a spell to summon another ape, as Ben tripped and missed a punch at the creature he was fighting, though Zamtap didn't, a pistol shot ringing out as he shot it. Aeron smiled and turned to Ash, chanting and imbuing the paladin beside him with Bull's Strength.
Tumbling away from the pair of Raptors that were intent on eating him, ki drew his new wand and healed up some of the grevious wounds they had inflicted, as Ash stepped up beside one of them and sliced it to ribbons with his greatsword. The Raptor battling Ben ripped into the ape with jaws and claws, as another ape appeared behind it, the pair injuring the dinosaur trapped between them, as Masembe immediately set about summoning yet another ape to overwhelm his chosen foe. Zamtap activated his brooch of Lesser Vigor to start tending to his wounds, while Aeron chanted and gestured at one of the two remaining creatures, sending a Lesser Electric Orb at it, the orb missing, but the Raptor shifted back into snake form anyway and vanished amidst the jungle foliage.
As Ki again used the wand to see to his wounds, so Ash charged the Raptor that was between the two apes, getting slashed by talons in the process but running the twsted creation through. The group looked about for a while, but it was soon clear that the surviviing Raptor had fled, and they settled down to patch up wounds and finish their nights rest, the group groaning as one as they noticed then that Jebodiah hadn't even woken up!
DM's Notes:
Well they are on their way through the jungles and after being isolated from the world for the past tenday or so spent underground, they now have a hint at what is beginning to happen in the world at large, as the Year of Rogue Dragons is almost upon them, and the Rage is already beginning to claim the minds of dragons across Faerun (and possibly all of Toril). As will be seen, the events of the coming year will play a big part in the storyline to come.
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better!
