The Heroes of Winterhaven - updated 8th June - Ryam Plays Dice

[Mathew_Freeman]

From Tiny Acorns, Part 3

“What do you mean, some sort of person?” gasped Theron, pushing forwards. Inside the ruined form of Fangorn there appeared to be some sort of cavity or space, occupied by a near-lifeless figure. The slight rise and fall of it’s chest was the only sign of life. Dark-skinned, it appeared almost skeletal in it’s appearance, but the long, pointed ears on it’s head gave it’s heritage away instantly.

“A Drow!” said Elwanen. “We shall have to be careful. Although I can’t say I’m too fussed as to whether a Drow lives or dies, we might as well wake him up and see if he knows anything useful.”

“Elwanen!” responded Cass. “Honestly, you can be so hard-hearted. Of course we’ve got to wake him up – there is obviously something weird going on here and we should try and find out what it is.”

Aran’s voice was added to the chours, as the Halfling added his enthusiasm to getting this figure healed and sorted out. Riam and Theron glanced at each other and agreed.

In short order, the body of Fangorn was lifted by Cass and Elwanen, and the long journey back through the various areas of the Keep began. Passing through the rooms that they had battled through the first time, holding the body of their old friend in their arms, the party moved as quickly as they could back to the surface. Each of them could feel that the aura of the Keep had changed and lightened with the departure of the Orcus worshippers, and Aran resolved that once this urgent situation had passed he would return and speak to Sir Cregan about all that had happened. The young Rogue had an excellent idea for the use of the some of the crystal shards he had collected from the glowing pillars in the deep of the Keep.

An hour or so later, Valthrun the Prescient was awoken from his afternoon nap by a thunderous banging on the door of his tower. Opening the fifth floor window to cuss at the person causing such a commotion, he was astonished to see the group, who had met up with Fau and Des on the way, carrying the body of Fangorn and standing staring up at him.

“Open the bloody door!” shouted Elwanen. “Now!”

Hurrying down the stairs, Valthrun unlocked the door and ushered everyone in. Although moving Fangorn’s body up the winding staircase was difficult, within a few minutes he had been laid down in the soft earth of the indoor garden on the third floor, the Heartstone held overhead in it’s jeweled setting. With some effort, the inert Drow was gently removed from the cavity in which he had lain, and placed on the ground.

“He already looks healthier,” noticed Riam. “He almost seems to be filling out as I watch.”

“How long has he been inside Fangorn?” wondered Theron. Turning to Valthrun, he said “When did you first encounter him? You said it was many years ago.”

“This is true. Fangorn was someone I met a long while ago, but I had no idea he was hiding such a secret. I am as astonished as you are!” replied the Sage. “He seems to be holding up well – shall we see if we can wake him?”

With his usual speed, Aran knelt down and carefully shook the figure that lay on the floor. “Hello? Can you hear me? Wake up!”

Slowly opening his eyes, the Drow saw several faces looking down at him. His voice croaky, he stared at each in turn and said “An old human male. An Eladrin male, a Paladin maybe, but of Pelor? Curious. Two Halflings, one with an eyepatch, both male. A human female. Another male, I think, although with all that hair it’s hard to tell. And, finally, a last human male but with blue skin and the air of a Wizard about him. Very, very strange. Where am I?”

Next time - introductions and further mysteries!

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

From Tiny Acorns, Part 4

Aran, always quick off the mark, got his reply in first.

“My name is Aran Thule, Halfling, ranger, wanderer, adventurer and tale-teller! Let me introduce you to my friends!” As he named each person he gestured towards them enthusiastically. “That there is Elwanen. He’s a Paladin of Pelor, like you said, well spotted, and he’s got a great way with teleporting into combat and laying the smackdown, I like him. Next to him is Valthrun, he’s a Sage, very clever.” Valthrun continued to peer at the Drow quizzically, as if trying to work out a particularly difficult jigsaw puzzle. Elwanen’s hand had strayed to his sword hilt since the newcomer was revealed.

“Now then,” added Aran expansively. “That’s Theron with the blue skin, he’s a Wizard and he makes things go bang. Or occasionally makes people go to sleep. Sabbat Fau is the one with all the hair, if he ever points at you and says ‘Youuuuuuuuu…’ then you’ve done something to upset him, that’s Des, he talks a lot, that’s Cass, she’s very handy with an axe and is looking for her brother and that’s Riam who is another Halfling and very good at helping us to get better organized when we’re fighting bad guys.” The various members of the party nodded as they were pointed out, apart from Sabbat Fau who stood, apparently lost in some sort of reverie.

“So,” continued the irrepressible Halfling. “Who are you and what are you doing inside the trunk of our friend Fangorn?”

“My name is Waylander,” replied the Drow, weakly. “But beyond that, I remember little. There was a Wizard, I think, and I was trying to take something from him? Then he cast some sort of spell and everything went dark and I felt very sleepy for a very long time, and then there was light and all of you. But I can’t remember much more than my name. Waylander. Have any of you heard of me? Might I be famous?” He looked around hopefully but no-one showed any recognition.

“I think I know, or knew, the Wizard that you refer to,” said Valthrun. “Myself and some companions fought him several years ago. He was using this artifact, the Heartstone, to create a magical garden inside a mountain. Some of the plants he grew were…interesting, to say the least. We rescued Fangorn, your, ah, predecessor from that garden. Perhaps I might venture a theory?”

Waylander nodded, still gathering his thoughts and his strength. A small part of his mind was suggesting to him that getting up, grabbing this valuable Heartstone and escaping out the window was a good source of income and an excellent idea, but wiser thoughts said that currently no-one was threatening him and that seemed somehow pleasant and a good thing.

Valthrun continued. “I surmise that when we rescued Fangorn from the garden, we were actually rescuing you. Perhaps that Wizard had used his magic to imprison you within the tree, and over time and with the influence of the Heartstone, the tree attained sentience and became Fangorn, all the while unaware of the living creature within him. And now, with Fangorn’s spirit gone, you have emerged once more to take up your place in the world.”

Waylander sat up slowly. “You said that this Fangorn was dead, is that right?” he asked, holding up one closed hand. “I ask, because I’ve just realized I am carrying this in my hand.” Opening his fist, he revealed a small dark brown seed. Valthrun smiled.

“It seems as though perhaps Fangorn is not entirely lost to us. I shall plant this seed and we shall find out what grows.”

“Well, since that matter seems to be resolved, I would ask the rest of you what you think we should do with this Drow, now he has appeared,” announced Elwanen. “I for one have no particular interest in him, unless,” and he paused for a second. “My friend, how are you with a blade?” Elwanen drew a well-made Eladrin dagger from his belt and tossed it to the Drow, who caught it neatly in one hand.

“That feels…familiar, somehow,” responded Waylander, holding it. He twisted and lunged suddenly, dropping into an attack stance, before relaxing and throwing the blade back to the Eladrin. “I believe I have some skill. I’m wondering, though, if anyone has a crossbow, preferably a small one, that I might borrow?”

Glances were exchanged around the room. It seemed that even though they had lost one friend, they might have gained a new companion just as useful to an adventuring party.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Reporting to Lord Parrag

“Right then,” said Elwanen. “We’ve rescued a Drow, defeated the bad guy and killed his cronies. Now we come to the other really fun bit – the celebrating!”

“We should probably speak to Lord Parrag first,” noted Cass. “He’ll want to hear the full story.”

“And he promised to buy me a drink!” chirped Aran happily.

“That’s right,” added Elwanen. “Plus, I have a sack-full of heads he needs to see.” Spinning around, he headed out the door. “Who’s with me?”

Aran, Riam and Cass headed out with him, with Fau, Theron, Des and Waylander staying behind to talk more with Valthrun. The four adventurers made their way to the mansion house in Winterhaven, passing quickly past the guards and heading into the room where, once again, the Lord sat behind his desk with a mound of paper in front of him.

“My Lord Parrag!” bellowed Elwanen from the doorway, advancing on the desk as though storming a castle. “I bring proof that Kalarel is dead!” He upended a sack over the desk as Lord Parrag scrabbled to remove the more important items. Heads from various creatures spilled across the desk, including hobgoblins, humans, the strange dark creature and that of the Orcus Underpriest – still wearing his helmet. Trailing gore and dripping blood splashed down and the stench was overpowering.

“By the gods!” exclaimed the Lord. “You don’t do things by halves, do you? Well, I suppose there can be no doubt of your victory. I see that only four of you have made it here – did the others survive?” He looked from face to face, trying to read their expressions.

“Fangorn didn’t make it,” said Aran sadly. “He died. But it was a dramatic death! He…”

Speaking quickly, the Lord cut him off. “I’m sure you have a grand tale to tell, my Halfling friend, and I am sorry to hear of your loss. But I would let you all celebrate first, before you recount it in detail for me tomorrow. Agreed? You should rest and gather yourselves – take a moment to enjoy your victory. At that time, we can also make sure that you receive the just payment that was promised to you.”

Standing, he gamely ignored the slowly increasing smell from the various heads now adorning his room. One had fallen on the floor and rolled into the fireplace, where it’s now-glassy eyes surveyed the room with an expression of some surprise. “On behalf of all of Winterhaven, I must congratulate you on your success. When you arrived we were beset by kobolds and had a secret conspiracy going on under our very noses. Now, both of those are gone and we can start the process of rebuilding Winterhaven and making it a finer place to live.”

With large grins plastered across their faces, the companions met up together at Wrafton’s Inn and got, well, plastered.

The party was long, loud and raucous. Aran had the whole room on the edge of their seats, listening to his finely spun tale of glory and death in the rooms under the Keep. Des spoke eloquently of his friend’s battles, the lessons they had learned, and recounted the famous story of the “Rules of Warfare” which had all chuckling. Cass relived her youth by taking a turn behind the bar for an hour, serving drinks with great speed and announcing at one point, bottle in hand “I’m going back to fighting monsters! It’s easier than dealing with you lot!” to general amusement.

Sabbat Fau retired early, but Splug became the first Goblin to enjoy a peaceful evening in Winterhaven, drinking and talking to all about his amazing “Master”. He proved a popular talker, despite his poor grasp of the Common language, but with Riam doing his best to offer some translation and with the alcohol flowing he went along very well.

The following day, nursing some severe hangovers, the group made a full and clear report to Lord Parrag over several mugs of water and some fruit. The Lord listened intently to every detail, making sure that a scribe was able to get every fact down, particularly about Sir Cregan, the undead Knight, and about the portal. Theron asserted that the portal was firmly closed, and that without months of work it could not be reopened.

“I am concerned that news of this will get out and some other group will attempt to open this portal,” said Lord Parrag gravely. “What other guarantees can you give me that this will not happen?”

“I have been thinking of this, my Lord,” replied Elwanen. “I propose the following – I send back a tithe of my future earnings to you, and you use it to make sure that a guard is placed on the Keep against any and all creatures attempting to use it for evil purposes.”

“Splug will also guard the Keep!” announced the Goblin. “Splug likes being with Master, but Master is going away. Splug stay, do good work.”

“You are leaving my service?” asked Fau in Goblin. “So be it. You have served me well, and your deeds shall not be forgotten when the Plaguestar comes. One day I shall return for you, and we will walk once more in darkness. But on that day, perhaps I may be following you.”

“Master, learning at your feet has been a most illuminating experience,” replied the Goblin. “I shall miss the palpable sense of power that emanates from you, your mastery of death and the hideous torments you inflict. It has been a great pleasure, but I feel know my road lies elsewhere. I shall always remember what you taught me and keep it safe.”

Lord Parrag spoke again. “Splug, I accept your offer of assistance, and thank you for it. Elwanen, your funds will be most valuable. We shall do our part to make this small part of the world safe, and you shall go on and do yours. Go safely, and in peace.”

Next time: Returning to Linden Field, the site of the group's first ever adventure.

 

[La Bete]

Lies, all lies. This perfidy will not stand....

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Return to Linden Field

After spending one final day in the town, the newly-crowned “Heroes of Winterhaven” left amidst scenes of some celebration, and sadness. Aran had spent the previous day journeying back and forth to the Keep and speaking to Sister Linora at the temple. He had been reasonably secretive, but after some pressure had stated that he had “a cunning plan” about fashioning a weapon out of the blue crystal shards that he had found. According to the Halfling, both Sir Cregan and Sister Linora had agreed to bless the shards in the names of their respective deities, and Aran was confident that once he had found someone who knew the correct ritual to create the item, he’d have a powerful new item to use against his enemies.

Elwanen finalized his tithing agreement to Lord Parrag, signing a document detailing the agreed uses of the money. The Lord seemed quite keen on the idea of extra funds, and the once word had gone out there were several sturdy young farmers lads (and farmers daughters, too) that had expressed an interest. It seemed as though the area was an untapped resource in terms of adventurers.

Waylander received a couple of gifts from the group. He had expressed an interest in the hand-crossbow (“A typical Drow weapon,” Elwanen had muttered) and Thair Coalstriker had managed to come up with one for him, along with an old set of leather armour that looked decent but had seen better days. Thusly armed and armoured, the recovering Drow had accepted the group’s offer to travel with them until such time as he made a choice about anything else he might want to do.

A few day’s travel saw the group returning to Linden Field, the site of their first adventure in the Shadowhaunt Mausoleum. Quinn Stasi, the local silversmith who had asked them for aid finding his sons, was overjoyed to see them. His face fell, however, when he heard the tale of the two bearers of the Kaius Thunderhammer that had been retrieved and given to the group. Both Rangrim, the Dwarven Paladin and Fangorn had perished whilst fighting with the hammer, and with a heavy heart Quinn accepted it back from the group.

“Maybe it’s just not supposed to be sent from the town?” he suggested. “We shall keep it here until such time as my children are fit to use it, then.”

After arranging somewhere to stay that night, the group settled in at the local tavern and Aran once more told his tale of victory in Winterhaven. A couple of the villages nodded in places as if they’d heard the tale before, and Cass was able to discover that the previous day a merchant had passed through and left some rumours in her wake, talking of the new Heroes of the land.

Aran had also spent some time talking with Quinn yesterday, continuing his strange little quest to get this magical weapon of his made. The silversmith had taken a package and retired back to his workshop, and the following day he handed over a slightly smaller package to the Halfling, and accepted a few coins in return. Theron, feeling as though there was surely something he was missing here, asked what was going on but Aran, tapping his nose mysteriously, said only that “light would be shed on the subject soon”.

The Heroes continued on their way to Fallcrest, walking easily on the road and enjoying swapping banter. At the front of the group, acting as scout in turns with Aran, Waylander strode and kept a sharp eye out for anything approaching. Just before lunchtime, he suddenly froze and then turned.

“There is a figure approaching. A human. Running. He seems upset, and there is a cloud of dust behind that suggests something is chasing him. Either it is very large, or there are a lot of them.”

About a minute later, a young human dressed in leather around rounded the corner ahead of the group. Seeing them, he yelled out “Kobolds! Help!”

“Kobolds?” grinned Elwanen. “I think we can handle a few Kobolds.”

A short distance away, nearly thirty Kobolds drew weapons and charged.

Next time: Kobolds! Kobolds! Kobolds!

 

[Khynal]

Note to self: do not get killed by tentacles when Elwanen is around.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Kobolds! Kobolds! Kobolds!

The party scattered and engaged the kobolds, meeting them head on. Whilst the reptilian creatures had the clear advantage in numbers, it quickly became apparent that they were incredibly outmatched in skill and toughness. Several died almost immediately, either skewered on blades, blasted with bolts of magical energy or shot with crossbow bolts.

Waylander had ducked off the road into some bushes, using the cover to make devastatingly accurate shots. Aran fought two-weaponed, slicing and dicing his way through the crowd. Next to him, Elwanen and Cass stood side-by-side, blades glinting in the sun.

One kobold, seemingly a little tougher than the others, was fighting with two weapons of his own. As Aran ducked under a swing of his blades and struck back, the kobold grabbed slyly ducked behind a comrade and watched as Aran gutted him instead, laughing. Aran spluttered with annoyance and swung again, locking blades together and shoving his foe back.

Another kobold stepped out of the incoming crowd. Remarkably, he appeared to be almost covered in rats swarming over his body. He looked up at Riam and pointed, shouting something in Draconic, and the rats poured off him and swarmed over the young Halfling. Yelping, Riam did his best to fight them off as they clawed and bit at him. Still, with his scourge slapping them off him, he was able to avoid the worst of the attack.

A couple of brave kobolds ran around the main battle, taking a long way round to engage Theron hand-to-hand. The first two were blown backwards of their feet by his counterattack, a Thunderwave, but the third leapt over the blast and struck the Wizard. Cursing, Theron moved back and continued to launch spells, but with a stunning display of kobold agility the foe dodged every time. “Ah, a little help here?” commented Theron as the rusty blade of his enemy sliced him in one side.

Despite these individual successes, the group, aided in part by the human that had joined them, quickly turned the tide. The second the two-weaponed kobold dropped his guard, Aran was able to run him through and drop him, and Cass and Elwanen soon cleared the foes surrounding them with a mixture of cleaving strikes and wide sweeps of his sword. Riam shook off the rats and launched back at his foe, dropping him with a charging attack, whilst Waylander continued to wreak havoc, summoning a globe of magical darkness to hide in and taking his shots from within.

The last kobold left alive was the one desperately battling Theron. The Wizard kept moving back and firing more spells at his foe, and with increasing desperation he watched as the small, scaled opponent dodged around them all. With the rest of the party watching with some amusement, having cleared the area, finally Cass stepped in and apologetically decapitated the small creature.

“Having some trouble, Theron?” asked Aran wryly.

“It just! Wouldn’t! Die!” shouted Theron in return, his face a mask of panic. “I tried everything! Magic Missile! Thunderwave! If it had gone on any longer I would have had to use Flaming Sphere! I hope that never happens again.”

Patting him on the back in a comradely fashion, the young human they had rescued introduced himself and apologised. “My name is Javier Sanchez. I’m so sorry that had to happen to you. I’ve been chased by those creatures for the last hour or so, and when I saw you I just headed over and hoped you could help. Thank you so much. Where are you headed?”

“We are on our way to Fallcrest to pick up some debts and tell some grand tales,” replied Aran. “And yourself?”

Javier responded “Ah, you see I’m on my way up to Winterhaven. I hear there is some adventure to have around that place, and beyond! Although hopefully slightly less perilous than facing thirty kobolds by myself.”

“Well, give our regards to Lord Parrag,” replied Elwanen. “He is a friend of ours.”

“I think I will!” laughed Javier. “Truly, it was great fortune of mine to have met you all!”

After he had shaken hands with everyone, thanked them again and headed on up the path, Theron commented “What a nice guy.”

An hour later he realized that Javier had stolen 200gp out of his money pouch.

DM's note: Seriously, Khynal (playing Theron) threw about five attacks at that little level one kobold minion and failed with all of them. It was hilarious as it nagged away at his hit points. There was talk at the table of simply leaving him to it...

Next time: The return to Fallcrest!

 

[Aran Thule]

The only reason someone saved him was that in this attack all the minions were represented with mini dime bars.
Hence everyone using there area effect dailies against the swarm rather then the tougher kobolds, Aran got to test his new lightning dagger which proved great for harvesting chocy goodness

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Entering Fallcrest

Fallcrest is a large town in the centre of the Nentir Vale, split into two levels. The Upper Side stands north of the Nentir Falls , the dramatic waterfall on the river that is the only hindrance to trade. A thriving community of dockers were always available to transfer trade from the Upper docks down to the Lower – and if you paid the right premium, none of it would be ‘lost’ on the way, either…

For Cass, it was like coming home. The familiar shape of the Moonstone Keep, dominant over the town from the position of height at the north end, was as reassuring as the grip of her axe in her hand. Although she had not succeeded in finding her brother Jon, she had adventured into the world, faced it’s dangers, and returned. She felt proud and accomplished.

Aran Thule , Halfling tale-teller, also enjoyed returning to Fallcrest. He knew that there were several good Inns in the town, not least of which was the Blueflame Orb, owned by Cass’ father Par Breenan. Strolling along the road towards the bridge over the Nentir River , he laughed to himself, still enjoying how Theron had grown increasingly desperate against the Kobold That Wouldn’t Die. Having his money pouch stolen afterwards had just added insult to injury, and Theron (whilst taking the incident with good grace) had been bemoaning his luck and refusing all offers of financial aid.

Waylander kept his eyes open, searching all the while for anything he might recognize. During the days of travel he had been trying to remember anything that might be of use to him, any fragment of his past. The only detail that had sparked any memory at all was when he had realized that he had a tattoo on one arm, of a part-risen sun. This had stirred some thought deep in his mind, and a name had floated to the top of his consciousness – the Horizon Syndicate. None of the rest of the group recognized the name, but both Cass and Riam had suggested the Lucky Gnome taproom as a place he might start looking.

Riding on his pony, Riam felt slightly self-conscious. His previous years as a mercenary, serving in the Underdark, had meant that this was the first time he was approaching a human settlement in peace. His military instincts were twitching, and he found himself wondering idly at some moments when his scouts would report in with details of the town’s weaknesses. Sighing, he once more checked his equipment and prepared to talk to humans.

Amongst other sights on the low skyline of Fallcrest, one stood out. Glittering green in the light, the Septarch’s Tower, seven sided and built of green stone, was a unique construction. Both Theron and Sabbat Fau were drawn to it, as during their previous visit they had not found the time to speak to it’s occupant. However, both also knew that before they satisfied their curiosity they needed to speak to Douven Staul, whom they had rescued from the clutches of Agrid. Douven had swiftly returned to Fallcrest after his rescue, and had said to them they were invited to his house when they arrived.

Over the next couple of days, the group spent some downtime in Fallcrest. Elwanen made a report to the Church authorities and informed them of his decision to help fund a permanent watch on the Portal in the Winterhaven Keep. Cass spent some time with her father, and Aran spread tales of his friends good deeds across the town.

Theron and Fau enjoyed their meal with Douven Staul and his wife, and Theron finally managed to get inside the Septarch’s Tower. However, his encounter with Nimorazan the Green, the Wizard of Fallcrest, was less than encouraging. Nimozaran demanded a 2000gp sum to join the Wizards Guild in Fallcrest, and despite Theron’s attempts at negotiation he refused to budge. Dejected and rejected, Theron returned to his room at the Blueflame Orb and pondered his options, vowing one day to return and shove the contempt he had been shown down the Wizard’s throat.

Waylander, accompanied by Riam, met another Drow in the Lucky Gnome taproom. This Drow revealed himself to be another member of the Horizon Syndicate, a Drow organization that traded with the surface world races. He provided Waylander with some better quality weapons and armour, and asked him to take a small package to someone in the Seven Pillared Hall in Thunderspire Mountain . Accepting, Waylander couldn’t help but have the feeling that he had entered into a deal he didn’t quite understand.

On the morning of the second day, each member of the party received an invitation to Moonstone Keep, at the behest of Lord and Lady Markelhay. It appeared that Lord Parrag of Winterhaven had sent word that of the heroes, and now the rulers of this city wished to speak to them. All agreed, and wondered what sort of people would rule such a place.

DM's note: This brings things back up to date (although la_bete says he'll be correctly the "lies" I've been telling in these updates. crater will be posting details of our last session soon, and we're back on track, kind of.

At some point, when I get time, I might go back through the thread and arrange it so it makes chronological sense. If I can.

 

[Khynal]

DM's note: Seriously, Khynal (playing Theron) threw about five attacks at that little level one kobold minion and failed with all of them. It was hilarious as it nagged away at his hit points. There was talk at the table of simply leaving him to it...

The kobold is immortal. I'm sure by now that's it's reattached its head and is coming after us again.