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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8275296" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Secrets of SaltmarshSession #047b Goxhill, Umber Hill & the Buttery GnollsDark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 6Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 6Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 6NPCsDaktari Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 6<s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP**Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.FamiliarsGerald (Bat/Giant Bat) Newt's familiar/rideOwly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiarThis is session 47b, and the Dark Squad are up and off early, they’re on the road out of Saltmarsh- on horseback, and on tour.And so the plan is-1) Take Don Jon to Goxhill.2) Head to Umber Hill, meet with Adabra (witch/priestess of Chauntea) for a chat.3) Check out Butterskull Ranch, home of the ‘missing’ Big Al Kalhoon.4) To Ravendale, a dragon attack?5) To Burle, meet with the Falcon.6) Goblins in the Dreadwood.7) To Blackedge, find the Goblin Stair.And so just over two hours down the road, and its beautiful weather and the same can be said about the countryside hereabouts, and then we are in Goxhill, which isn’t a big place.[ATTACH=full]137021[/ATTACH]Goxhill, a mine and that's about all. It's a bit of a rathole place.Don Jon says his farewells to the Dark Squad and reminds them to let Gundren know what they have been up to, and then the big man gets on with the business of checking out the Goxhill mine. The Dark Squad however are keen to move on, although not before calling up to the old watchman on the tower, Larg Neverstay- “has he seen or heard of the Twilight Squad?”Neverstay has nothing but good things to say about the Twilight Squad, although the young adventurers have since departed Goxhill, the entire village- he assures Vinnie, are beholden to the neophyte adventurers, or as the old man puts it-“They beat the holy crap out o’ those little dragon-headed fellers!”He’s referring, of course, to the explosive action presented in session 44.Reassured, their protégés are in the field- and doing good work, the Dark Squad get back on the road again, next stop is Umber Hill.[Don Jon Raskin to Goxhill 200 XP][ATTACH=full]137022[/ATTACH]"It iz be-who-t-full, n'est pas? I riot of kull-er, and zo... SNIFF-AAAARRRRHHH (Vinnie breaths deep) Zo full of li-FF!" Newt meantime is painting the landscape with a different colour in his head- that colour is red, a blazing red!Umber Hill is beautiful, Vinnie later describes it as an idyl, a riot of colours and fecundity- the village clusters around a great windmill, home to Adabra priestess of Chauntea. The peasant folk here are happy with their lot, the land hereabouts is verdant and provides plenty for all.The Dark Squad are soon identified by Adabra, they’re the folk that saved several farmers from a flight of manticores about two tendays past at Fiveways. They are for this reason very welcome here, a meal of magnificent proportions is prepared, and much chatter follows.Alas Adabra has never heard of the Witch’s Tor, the Dark Squad are still searching for this place- and Adabra’s name had been mentioned as a possible source of information, although that was only because some folk in Saltmarsh think that the priestess here is a kind of witch.Adabra suggests that the Dark Squad go in search of old maps of the region, perhaps they should visit Fallowstone Holy, in (of course) Fallowstone, just a few hours down the road. The Fallowstone Holy is a temple and library, maintained by monks and priests devoted to Deneir (God of Writing) and Oghma (God of Knowledge).Well, that’s real handy.Good work![Chatter and info from Adabra 200 XP]The Dark Squad are very grateful for the help, and also for the fact that Adabra is also happy to sell the adventurers a variety of healing potions and balms- including a jar of Keoghtom’s ointment, and at friend’s prices.After more smooth-talking Vinnie also secures an opportunity to visit again with Adabra, to learn more about potion making from the Chauntea devotee.[Vinnie secures more potion-making lessons 200 XP]However, just before we depart the glorious Umber Hill Newt lets his comrades experience his version of Umber Hell, basically the tabaxi- caught in a daydream, re-visions the blooming village during a ‘glorious’ firestorm.Just to note this speech, describing a hellish Umber Hill, is delivered apropos nothing much, Newt just says these things, out loud (but usually only to his colleagues)- it’s odd.“Imagine, if you will, tortured screams coming from the flaming windmill- as spirals of fire shoot from the twirling sails, as if from a Cat’o’whirl (like a Catherine Wheel). Each flourishing flame touching down amidst fresh kindling. To sprout afire-fresh and seed the entire of Umber Hill with a sizzling crimson crop!”The tabaxi finishes, and with a grin, and then a shiver of pleasure.“You are just zo weird!” Vinnie concludes, as Ram slowly shakes his head.[Newt’s Umber Hell vision 200 XP]It’s just great when the players do the work for you.So, its early afternoon when the Dark Squad depart Umber Hill, next stop is Butterskull Ranch, home of the ‘missing’ Big Al Kalhoon, the ex-watch commander of Saltmarsh turned butter producer/seller.But the next encounter is with a trio of unsaddled riding horses, and then a cow- all of the beasts wandering the road on which the Dark Squad are traveling.Vinnie turns on his animal charm and corals the three riding horses, they’re certainly domesticated animals, and all of them branded- ‘BAK’, that’s Big Al Kalhoon. The beast’s have escaped the farm, the druid correctly surmises.Ram tries and fails to lead the escaped cow to safety- the beast jogs ahead of the rushing rogue for a while, at least until the ex-smuggler decides to give up on the project, he’s not country-folk that’s certain.The Dark Squad secure the three wandering horses- and their mounts, in a copse of trees a little way off the road, and well out of sight, and then as sneakily as they can (courtesy of Vinnie’s Pass Without Trace spell) approach Butterskull Ranch, undetected- they hope.[Horses on the road 100 XP]The place is as much fortress as farm, a stone-built compound with twelve foot high walls and great wooden gates. Vinnie however is certain that the barks and growls that can heard, every now and then, coming from within are not being produced by dogs (wild or otherwise). The sounds are being made by a gnoll, at least one, and perhaps several hyenas.He’s not wrong.The Dark Squad therefore huddle-up and hide in the dense vegetation, as Owly- Vinnie’s owl familiar, takes to the skies to have a good look around, and keep in mind that the druid is sharing the bird’s senses.The area within the compound is a mess- with smashed and broken items strewn all about, and blood trails here and there. However, the buildings are still intact. The backyard of the compound is home to a watching gnoll and a clutch of hyenas- mostly just sunning themselves and relaxing. The front yard holds another pair of gnolls- one of which seems to be spearing and eating the fish from Big Al Kalhoon’s ornamental pond, the other is doing a lot of the barking and snarling, there’s also a giant hyena here that is worryingly gnawing on a severed arm.It seems all is not well at the Butterskull Ranch.Ram is up next, the rogue quietly and sneakily makes a circuit of the compound, and discovers that there are windows, barred but not shuttered, that show into the farmhouse proper. Within, the half-elf discerns, with a ‘34’ on his stealth check, there are a clutch more gnolls, two of them leader-types, he’s certain.One of whom he recognises, it’s the cloaked gnoll the Dark Squad first encountered way back in the gnoll and hyena attack on the ruined Temple of Abbathor, when the Dark Squad helped out the dwarven engineers fro Farhill- Bang & Olafsson. Now, as then, the cloaked gnoll seems to be in charge of the operation, but the rogue doesn’t understand what the creatures are saying, although he gets the impression that the gnoll boss isn’t happy about something.[ATTACH=full]137027[/ATTACH]I promise you, all of you- this isn't going to be easy.And so, we’re setting up for the fight- therefore the Dark Squad regroup, and then talk through their options/tactics, until a plan is formed. Then Ram gets situated, up on the roof of one of the buildings- behind a chimney and well out of sight (stealth ‘29’). While Daktari, Newt and Vinnie silently enter the compound- the door is pulled shut but not locked. They get as close as they dare to the giant hyena (eating an arm) in the main courtyard (lowest stealth ‘22’).But that’s all we had time for this session.[Recon & prep for project gnoll genocide 500 XP]I assure you however it is all going to kick off, and possibly right royally, in the next session.Oh, but just to say- the Dark Squad are maybe 1,000 XP off seventh level, so that’s nice.Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

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