Chapter 2 - Ramshead (s. 4)
2.1 A Mystery
The party makes their way out of the goblin cave complex, with the Raven Queen statue in hand. They debate whether this powerful evil artifact should be handed over to Lord Dread, and consider the possibility that Davos may be more interested in the statue than in information on the Arinfax Colossus. So, they decide to return the statue to Davos and just ask him if he really wants them to hand the statue over to Lord Dread. The party reaches the surface to find their horses have been slaughtered by some wandering beast of the Torin Plains, so they start the long trek home on foot.
A Charmed Meeting
Just a day or two into their travels, the party runs into another civilized humanoid out in the wilds of the Torin Plains. Charm, a tiefling blade-for-hire, has been picking up work here and there around the Boundary Lands for several years. She’s often been hired by nobles in the area, and by the Empire of Nerath, to handle… discrete… tasks that require some specialized expertise. Charm has made a comfortable living working independently, but she’s recently begun to grow tired of the lonely freelancer lifestyle. She’s gotten some steady work in Verind’s Edge and has been hanging around the city for some time now. Consequently, she’s had several run-ins with Fargrim, and the two have developed a gruff love-hate relationship.
Most recently, Charm was hired by the Empire to investigate a rash of missing shipments from the Torin Plains. Merchants often venture far out into the Plains to collect valuable unique resources, or to occasionally trade with some of the goblinoid tribes of the plains. Of course, it is quite common for merchant caravans to never return from the Torin Plains, meeting a grizzly fate from the numerous denizens of the untamed wilderness. However, there has recently been a spike in missing shipments, and the Empire has heard rumor that some of the missing caravans may be due to the attacks of organized humans, likely soldiers from the Fiefdom of Uthrin. Charm was sent out into the plains to investigate some of these missing shipments, and she tracked down the remnants of one such caravan. Examining the battle site, she confirmed, to her eye at least, that the attack looked to be perpetrated by trained soldiers with quality weaponry, not the usual brutish assaults of the ill-equipped creatures of the Torin Plains.
Returning from this expedition, Charm came across the party making camp one night, and decided to head back to Verind’s Edge with some company rather than going it alone. Fargrim claimed the rogue was not to be trusted and shouldn’t be allowed in camp, but Charm lived up to her name with respect to the rest of the party, and everyone else took an immediate liking to the tiefling.
The Statue Causes a Scene
A couple of nights after Charm has joined the group, Erik is taking his turn at watch when he hears some whispering. He looks about, but quickly realizes the voice is in his own head. The words become clear, “You are superior to the others. Take me and we will escape together. I will bring you so much power…” Erik promptly realizes that he is wasting precious time with this gaggle of buffoons he calls friends, and it would be best if he took the statue and went on his separate way. He attempts to quietly rummage through The Zaza’s pack to retrieve the statue, but the dragonborn’s alert ears waken her before Erik can grab the artifact.
As his friends tackle him, the fog lifts from Erik’s mind and he returns to his senses. The party restrains the wizard and proceeds to question him. He insists he was being influenced by the dark statue to take it and run away, that it whispered into his mind. The party has their doubts about his story and decide it might be best to leave Erik tied up for the remainder of the journey home.
As Erik pleads with the party about the dark whispers he heard, Invicto hears similar whispers. Fortunately, the warlock is able to resist the statue’s dark influence, although, Invicto finds the statue’s suggestions pretty agreeable anyways. He decides to keep his confirmation of Erik’s story to himself, just in case he does decide to run off with the evil artifact later. For now, though, Invicto is enjoying his work with the party, and he decides it isn’t the right time to slaughter them all to further his own dark ambitions. As the party continues their journey back to Verind’s Edge, Erik and Invicto continue to periodically hear whispers in their minds, but now that they are aware of the statue’s influence they find it easy, though a little tiresome, to resist its power.
The party spends some time dodging roving bands of orcs and ogres and scuffles with a couple of goblins and kobolds, but after two weeks of travel, they are eventually able to make it back to Verind’s Edge relatively uneventfully.
The party heads straight to Davos’s tower to report back to him. Davos is pleased to see the party has returned. Since they had been gone for nearly a month, the wizard had started to worry they might never come back. He is immediately intrigued by the statue the party has brought back, confirming that it appears to be a powerful artifact infused with necrotic magic. He restates his concern for obtaining information on the Arinfax Colossus, but agrees that the artifact is worth investigating before handing over to Lord Dread.
The party leaves the artifact in Davos’s hands, and now that the statue is safely far away from the party, they release Erik from his bonds. The party takes in some rest and relaxation after many long weeks on the road, starting with some drinks in their favorite inn where they run into Mujeh, the goliath bard from the Guildhouse of Ellendor. Mujeh fills them in on the happenings in the city and shares a drink with the party. Charm continues to spend time with the party, and late one night, after many drinks, she admits she wants to be part of something more and to have a steady place, and group of friends, to call home. The party is happy to offer her that, and she is officially added as the fifth member of the crew.
Davos calls the party back to his tower a couple of days later. He says he has made limited progress in discovering the statue’s true magical nature, but over the last two days he was attacked by three of his own assistants as well as two acolytes from a nearby temple. All the assailants were under the statue’s magical influence, of course, but the statue’s danger made a quick decision necessary. Davos consulted with the head of the temple whose acolytes were affected by the statue to perform some divination regarding the issue. The priest was assured through his divinations that handing the statue over to Lord Dread was dangerous, but not obtaining information about the Arinfax Colossus was also dangerous. Since it was especially dangerous to even keep the statue in the city for further study, and because Lord Dread has kept to himself for decades out in the Torin Plains, Davos decided it would be best to pay Lord Dread’s price and hand the statue over to him.
A Dreadful Meeting, Part 2
The party requisitions some new horses and heads back out into the Torin Plains to the keep of Lord Dread. They make their way through the dense fog surrounding the keep, using the passphrase “Caratus Sinor” to bypass the undead guardians. They enter the keep and find it similarly decorated to their last meeting with Lord Dread – numerous undead servants mill about and twisted screaming faces are frozen in ebony pillars throughout the grand hall.
The party tells Dread they have obtained the statue, but they discovered it was a powerful magical artifact, not a historical oddity. They feel they should be compensated more for obtaining such a valuable item. Lord Dread scoffs at this suggestion, admitting all along there was a very small chance the statue would be magical, and assuring the party that it was simply for that chance that he offered the deal to the party at all. This adds further doubt to Lord Dread’s claim that the party was retrieving an item that was stolen from him, as he did not even know whether the statue was magical or not. Nonetheless, Dread seems very uninterested in renegotiating their deal and he insists the party hand over the statue. The party demands that they get the information about the Arinfax Colossus first. Dread asks to at least see the statue first and the party shows it to him, at which point Lord Dread becomes quite excited… as excited as a dark master of undead minions can be.
Dread hands the party the information he has collected about the Arinfax Colossus. Looking over various scraps of writing and old parchments, a large drawing of the Colossus catches the party’s eye.
“I heard a great knight from your city supposedly slew an ancient dragon that was the Arinfax Colossus. I’m certain the knight was a brave warrior, but I’m afraid he was quite mistaken. The Colossus is no dragon. It is a great creature forged from the elemental chaos of the Abyss by the Titans. Like the Titans, the construct seeks only to destroy the world. The goblinoid races prophesize that the Arinfax Colossus will rise from the earth in the Torin Plains some time in the next few years. It will march through the civilized lands to the east, literally crushing cities beneath its feet. And the goblinoid races will follow in its wake, spreading chaos and death throughout the lands.”
Though it’s no ‘two-headed dragon with one head still remaining’, Fargrim is pleased that his prediction that the Arinfax Colossus had not been dealth with yet was accurate. The party asks Lord Dread if the goblinoid prophecies spoke of how the Colossus could be stopped or destroyed. Unfortunately, Dread assures the party that the goblinoid prophecies are quite optimistic about the Colossus being totally unstoppable. The party also asks Lord Dread if they know how Sir Thalus was misled into thinking the dragon was the Arinfax Colossus. Dread does not know specifically, but he supposes the knight romped through the Torin Plains torturing any goblinoids he came across until one simply invented the idea to placate the knight’s demands. Sir Thalus was then quick to believe that this was his destiny, to slay a great dragon that threatened the safety of all of the civilized lands.
The party also inquires about the additional payment of 200 gold they were to receive upon delivery of the statue. Lord Dread notes that he gave the party 200 gp worth of potions to aid them in retrieving the statue, stating, “If those potions were not used for that purpose, it seems they should be returned to me. However, since I owe you 200 gold, why don’t we simply call it even.” This does not sound like the terms the party had agreed to, but they become acutely aware of the fact that they are surrounded by a host of Lord Dread’s undead minions deep inside his black keep. They decide the 200 gold is not worth arguing over since they have the information they came for and the party agrees to take their leave. Lord Dread assures them it was a pleasure doing business with them and that if they ever need to strike a deal in the future they know where to find him.
Spending Some Time in the City
The party brings the information they have gathered on the Arinfax Colossus to Davos who is very interested in the revelations the party has uncovered. He immediately starts studying the writings the party has brought and waves them out of his room. The party reminds Davos of the 2,000 gold pieces he owes them. Davos scrounges around, mentioning that he doesn’t have too much gold on hand. He offers them a magical suit of stanching cloth armor along with 1,320 gold, and the party accepts. The party departs to get in some rest and relaxation once again. With the help of Mujeh’s developing network of contacts, they spend some of their newly-acquired wealth to obtain additional magical arms and armor.
While strolling through a marketplace within the city one day, Erik runs into an old acquaintance, Gregor – a man in the service of Erik’s adoptive father. Gregor is excited to run into Erik and spends some time catching up with him. Gregor has built up some savings over the years and has recently struck out on his own, coming to Verind’s Edge to try and make a living as a merchant. He is using his contacts within Quinalyn to carry out some trade between the elven lands and Verind’s Edge and is doing well for himself so far.
Gregor tells Erik that his adoptive brother, Luwin, has “bought himself a lordship”. Luwin found a debt-ridden noble ruling over a small farming village and was able to buy up the noble’s lands and place himself in charge of the village. Luwin hasn’t been satisfied with ruling over a small farming village, though, and rumors are that he has started venturing into the depths of the Feywild to collect scarce, valuable resources for trade. Gregor tells Erik that, believe it or not, his adoptive father, Varna, feels bad about the way Erik left, and that Varna wishes to extend an open invitation for Erik to come back and visit him at any time. Erik is a little dubious about his adoptive father’s newfound guilt, but considers it a possibility to pay a visit to Varna at some point in the future.
Davos calls the party back to his tower a few days later to update them on his findings. The wizard has looked through the writings the party brought him and is very concerned about the threat the Arinfax Colossus poses, but he did not find any information about how to stop the creature. Davos has spoken with Emperor Essran about the threat, but the Emperor maintains faith that the threat was handled by Sir Thalus. Despite the evidence Davos has collected, the Emperor is certain the Arinfax Colossus has been dealt with. Davos intends to pursue the matter further on his own and plans to travel east to Korindor, the capital of Kasalat (by way of a Teleportation Circle in Thersi). There he will procure more powerful divination services to attempt to discover a way to stop the Arinfax Colossus.
Two situations have recently arisen that command the wizard’s attention, however. Davos will handle one on his way to Korindor, but he needs the party to investigate the other matter for him. Davos doesn’t care which task the party wants to take on, he is happy to handle the one they do not choose.
The first issue concerns strange reports from the small village of Ramshead. The reports are fairly confusing, but Davos has received word that the village has been attacked by strange bands of assorted creatures – a wolf, deer, a bear, a giant beetle, and giant spiders. Davos has no idea why these creatures would be working together, or even why they would be attacking villagers, but the matter certainly needs investigating.
The second issue is an offer from a minor noble within the Fiefdom of Uthrin to pledge allegiance to Emperor Essran. The noble, Count Meric, has secretly reached out to the Emperor to seek his help in breaking some kind of curse that has been plaguing his family for generations now. The Count offered no specific details on this curse, but assured the Emperor that if he could end the curse on his family Meric would join the Empire of Nerath. The party debates briefly and decides that giant beetles sound more enticing than strange, dark curses, so they head out to the village of Ramshead.
Ramshead
After a couple days of travel to the southeast, the party comes across the village of Ramshead as dusk is falling. The village seems to be mostly deserted, though lights are on in a few houses. As the party enters the village they see that some of the houses appear to have been attacked, with doors battered in and windows shattered. The streets have debris and trash scattered throughout. Despite the general state of disrepair, there seems to be some people still in the village. As the party proceeds down the main street the door of one house is slammed shut and curtains are pulled across the windows.
The party heads to the center of the village where there is a large two-story inn, Ramshead Tavern. Charm uses her stealth to quietly enter the structure while the party waits outside in the village square. She finds the inn currently empty, though there are signs that it has been recently inhabited. Looking in the kitchen she finds the back door left open, through which she can see a small girl sitting in the street, crying. Charm approaches the girl and as she gets closer, she can tell that the girl appears to be in shock. The child barely acknowledges Charm’s approach. Charm attempts to console the girl and ask her what has happened. After some coaxing, the girl says her name is Lucinda and she tells Charm that the villagers took her mom away to the lake south of town. Charm takes the girl into the inn and gets her to rest in one of the beds, then the party heads down to the lake.
As they crest a ridge, the party sees a crowd of villagers angrily shouting. There is a small pier built out onto the 'lake', which is really more of a pond. On the pier, a hulking man with dark eyes holds a woman with her hands tied shouting something to the crowd about the gods’ justice. The woman is crying and pleading to the mob of townspeople. Some townsfolk seem to be shouting to throw the woman into the water, while a small minority cries their opposition to the idea.
When the townsfolk see the party cross the ridge, someone calls out “Strangers!” and the villagers immediately switch their attention to them and become very tense. Many men brandish some crudely improvised weapons, others start stepping away from the party. The party calls out that they were sent by the Emperor. This causes a stir amongst the mob and some seem interested in hearing the party out while others still eye the party suspiciously.
Fargrim calls out to let the woman go, and the hulking man responds that they are only delivering the gods’ justice. As the party moves to approach the pond some villagers call out “Don’t trust them!” and “Run back to the village, we can defend ourselves there!” The hulking man tosses the woman into the water as the crowd disperses and the villagers flee into the surrounding woods. Most of the party heads to the pond to rescue the now drowning woman, while Fargrim attempts to tackle the dark-eyed man who tossed the woman off the pier. He gets close enough to lunge at him as he runs around the edge of the pond, but Fargrim misses and the man beats a swift retreat into the dark woods, leaving Fargrim behind.
The woman thanks the party for saving her and, almost in disbelief, asks the party if they really are from the Emperor. She is ecstatic that help may have finally arrived. The party calms her down and asks her what is going on in the village. The woman assures the party that she has done nothing wrong, and that the villagers singled her out as bringing the attacks upon the village simply because she is an unmarried woman with a child. The hulking man leading the mob, Raver, claimed she was a woman of ‘loose morals’, and the gods were punishing the village for her actions.
Strange Happenings
The woman, Igris, goes on to explain the history of the attacks. They started some time ago quite unexpectedly. Some villagers went missing in the woods surrounding the village, and when their bodies were found they were missing their heads. A few days later an assortment of creatures simply wandered into the village and attacked some of the townsfolk. The creatures removed the heads of their victims and retreated into the woods. The villagers then organized some defenses and were ready for the creatures when they returned. They were able to fight off the creatures, though a few more villagers were killed in the fight. The creatures again removed the heads of their victims as they fled back into the woods.
Then, some of the villagers themselves started turning on each other. One woman’s husband attacked her in their home, beheading her and running off into the woods with her severed head. Now, most of the village is holed up in the inn in the middle of town waiting to fend off the next round of attacks and suspicious of anyone or anything that comes into town. No one seems to know why the attacks are occurring, though most villagers believe the gods themselves have forsaken them and damned them for some reason.
The party suggests heading back to the inn to talk with the townsfolk – Fargrim is especially excited about running into Raver again. Igris is not at all interested in putting herself in danger again and would rather leave town, but she admits she must find her daughter before doing anything else, and Charm assures her Lucinda is in the inn. The party heads back into the village and as they start down the street heading towards the inn an odd pack of creatures emerges from the woods and approaches the village. The party turns to face the monsters while Igris flees to the inn.
Two Deathjump Spiders, a Cave Bear, an Ankheg, and a Bullywug Mud Lord move to engage the party. Fargrim, Charm, and The Zaza form a strong front line that engages most of the creatures while Erik and Invicto stand behind them. However, the Bullywug hangs back behind the creatures’ front line and uses his Fiery Croak to launch attacks on Erik and Invicto from afar. Meanwhile, one of the Deathjump Spiders is able to leap behind the party’s front line and it begins chasing Invicto around the back of the battlefield.
Fargrim and Charm may have a love-hate relationship off the battlefield, but in the heat of the fight they work well together, with Fargrim helping to setup Charm for several effective attacks. Fargrim, however, finds that fate is not on his side as he misses time and time again himself. The Ankheg quickly snatches The Zaza in its mandibles and drags her off to the side of the fight, removing her from the battle as it continues to chew on her. The Zaza is able to hack away at the beast while caught in its mandibles, however, and soon the Ankheg is near death. Fargrim runs to The Zaza’s aid and uses a Brash Assault on the Ankheg to make an opening for her to finally deliver the killing blow.
Charm, somehow left behind as the remaining front line of the party, is taken down by the Cave Bear and one of the Deathjump Spiders as Fargrim and The Zaza rush back to the fight. Meanwhile, the Bullywug unleashes a devastating blast with his Fiery Croak, critically striking both Erik and Invicto in one hit. The two magic-users are now both on the brink of death, and one of the Deathjump Spiders continues to harass Invicto.
Fargrim and The Zaza rejoin the fight just in time. Fargrim shouts an Inspiring Word to Charm to get her back on her feet, and The Zaza engages the spider harassing Invicto while placing herself between the Cave Bear and the rest of the party. Invicto unleashes his vengeance in the form of the Flames of Phlegethos and brings one of the spiders to death’s doorstep. Erik uses his newly acquired Stanching magical armor to quickly stitch his wounds and continues to harass his enemies with his Flaming Sphere. Fargrim misses yet again with a Brash Assault, but his move creates an opening for The Zaza to drop another enemy. The tables seem to have turned and Fargrim finally lands his first hit of the fight on the Cave Bear. Though Charm may be a little worse for wear, and Erik and Invicto look thoroughly singed, the party is able to finish off the strange band of creatures as they stoically, and somewhat surprisingly, fight to the death.
