Sessions #40 & #41: The Creatures in the Wilderness (Parts I & II)

Session #40

After their victory over the ghouls at the edge of the Watching Wood, the party continued their journey through said forest. Two days later, on 23 Lhavrion, they emerged, and found themselves on  a hill overlooking Blackwater Lake. The Lake was huge, almost like an inland sea, and indeed had a dark and foreboding look to it. It was bordered on the south (the party's left) by a dank-looking marsh, and there was a large field between the bottom of their current hill and the shore. And in this field was a huge army! The party recognized Fomorian, huge, ghastly looking creatures, who appeared to be in command, and cyclopes.

The party was naturally skittish as to how to proceed. But before they could come to any decision, a small detachment of two Fomorians and two cyclopes came up the hill near them. The huge, ugly creatures attacked these intruders, and a fierce battle commenced!

Session #41

It was a pitched battle. The cyclopes, while not easy to defeat, proved manageable. The Fomorians however were hardy and relentless. The party was wearing them down, but it became a battle of attrition, each side wailing on the other trying to wear them down the fastest.

The party was nearing victory when all of sudden a war-cry split the air. Everyone looked up to see a huge army of half-orcs emerge from the marsh to the south and charge the Fomorian-Cyclops army! A ferocious, rather one-sided battle erupted - the half-orcs were tearing through the cyclopes like it was nothing. The Fomorians who were still fighting the party roared in anger and abandoned their fight with the heroes and ran back to help their troops.

The party sat down to rest and tend to their wounds, watching the battle in horrified fascination. It was clear the half-orc army was going to win, but the party wasn't sure what they themselves should do. The enemy of their enemy was their friend, they supposed, so they figured the half-orcs would be allies in this situation, and if they wanted their good graces, they'd have to join the fray. They were understandably reluctant to do so, but girded their loins and prepared to fight again.

As they were preparing though, two half-orc soldiers came up the hill. Upon seeing them, they reacted as if they'd been looking for the heroes, and ordered the party to come with them. The party was confused and a little suspicious, but curious enough that they decided to follow.

The soldiers led them to the half-orc army's camp deeper in the marsh, and then to a tent within the camp. There, a half-orc cleric greeted them. He informed them that the Order of the Lantern, whom they had encountered a month or so ago (and had more or less declined to help them with their quest for a counter-ritual), had been keeping an eye on them, and was now willing to reconsider their original refusal and make a deal. The cleric then left the tent, just assuming they would follow. The party shouted some questions after him, but he was just the messenger come to fetch them, and he had no answers.

The party was a bit nonplussed. There weren't happy being bossed around by these half-orcs, they weren't happy at the fact they seemed to be getting farther and farther away (both geographically and figuratively) from getting paid, they weren't happy that they didn't feel like their excursions into Droaam had really netted any answers to the questions they'd come here with. They debated for a while what to do. In the end, their desire to continue towards the goal of obtaining the counter-ritual outweighed other considerations, and they decided to go with the cleric.

The cleric, a few soldiers, and the party headed out almost immediately. They crossed over into the Shadow Marches, and followed the Blackwater River downstream for a day (camping overnight). The half-orcs did not have much to say, and gave only terse responses to questions, and the party finally gave up asking.

Around noon on 24 Lhavrion, they arrived in the half-orc city of Arashuul.

Rewards

• 13,000 XP each. You're up to level 18 now!
• 60,000 GP total.

Session #39: The Darkness in their Minds

The party set about to explore the conquered fortress. They were relived to learn that there were no other traps or monsters hiding about. The main and upper levels were pretty boring - they found some loot, but there wasn't much else to see.

When they ventured down into the dungeon, however, it was a much different story. Here, tucked away in one of the dank cells was a human man. He emaciated, filthy, and clearly tramautized. The party tried to coax him out and speak to him, but if they so much as came near him he began to scream and flail. He also kept chanting, "Blackwater, Blackwater, Blackwater..."

The party decided they couldn't just leave him there, so Taumir used a knock-out potion he had to put the man out, at which point Edge flung him over his shoulder and carried him out. Having seen and found all there was to see, the party left the fortress behind.

They debated whether to return to Breland, and if so, how. But the poor wretch's chants of "Blackwater" had made them think of Blackwater Lake, a wicked place ever deeper inside Droaam. Perhaps there there was some connection to the illithids and other monsters that were threatening Breland. After some debate, they decided to go to the lake. This raised the question of whether to go through The Watching Wood, or around. Either way was risky, so they decided to just go through.

About an hour after they started their journey, the former prisoner woke up. He began having another fit, and threw himself off of Edge. He then screamed, "They come from Blackwater!" and tore off into the forest. The party sighed, and felt bad for him, but figured there was nothing more they could do for him, and moved on.

Three days later, late in the day on 21 Lhavrion, the party entered the Watching Wood. Naturally, there were immediately attacked. A swarm of ten ghouls, flesh-eating zombie-like creatures, came at them in the dim light of the dense forest. The party sprang into action, and scoured their enemies before them, slaying all ten!

Rewards

• 5,000 XP each!
• By my count, this means Azeri and Taumir should level up to 18, but the rest of the party stays at level 17.
• 33,000 GP total
• You find a Fire Horn (Player's Handbook 2, p. 210)

Session #37: The Meeting Behind Enemy Lines

As the party stopped to catch their breath after the fight, they became aware of two figures coming through the trees, an odd-looking human male and a Dragonborn female. The party was naturally wary and suspicious, and when the two figures saw them, they were on their guard as well. But they did not attack, and announced themselves to be Kurtz and Yseult, the only two survivors of a Brelish mercenary group sent into Droaam to strike back at raiders.

The party was unsure of whether to trust these newcomers, but it quickly became apparent they had the same goals and masters (Kurtz & Yseult work for The Lady Orla Donella, another Breland noble) and that they were going to charge into the danger that they could all sense coming from the fortress. This combined party made their way to the fortress walls, examining it and each other warily.

They looked around for a little bit, remaining unnoticed. Their investigations were not terribly successful, but they had all come too far to turn back now, especially when their employers would almost certainly expect them to finish the job. So they braced themselves for the fight ahead and made ready to kick in the front door.

Session #36: Wearied, Worried, and Warry

The party looked around at the goblins surrounding them. As the goblins began to move towards them, Taumir notched an arrow in his bow, Edge put his sword out, and Azeri tried to reason with them. The goblins were intimidated enough by the sight of these warriors putting down two illithids and their hired muscle, and charmed enough by Azeri, that they stopped coming forward and gave the party their inaction. Taumir had the pluck to ask them questions about the illithids, which they mainly answered with half-hearted grunts and pointed looks. From this the party was still able to learn that the illithids commands the goblins and their ilk, and that they came came from a spot further up the Scar River.

Edge stuffed Tselem's corpse in the bag of holding, and the three survivors hurried north along the riverbank. After about an hour's journey, they came to a copse of trees with a clearing in the middle that they felt they could hole up in for the evening (by now it was dusk). Azeri set to work casting Raise Dead on Tselem (the components for which cost every party member 1,250 GP). She did not finish till it was already the wee hours of the morning, and Taumir had long since fallen asleep. When Tselem finally rose, Azeri welcomed him back and then fell dead asleep in her bedroll. Edge also said hi from where he stood watch, then roused Taumir for him to keep watch for the next several hours. Tselem said little and lay down until morning, keeping a small magical light burning over his head the whole time.

Around mid-morning (16 Lharvion), Azeri awoke, and the party discussed what to do next. They agreed they should continue to head north, following the river - as much as Tselem was not keen on running into the illithids again, they had after all been hired to discover what they were up to.

About this time, a boat came sailing past on the river. The party tried to make themselves hidden, but the crew could clearly see them. The party changed tactics and shouted out, would they be willing to take them along as passengers, and the captain shouted back that it would be 100 GP each. The party decided that was too steep and let the ship pass on by.

For the next two days, the party followed the river going north. Around noon on 18 Lharvion, they began to feel psychic pressure yet again. They looked around and saw a building about 1,000 yards further inland. As much as they dreaded another illithid encounter, they began to make their way towards it, trying to be sneaky. They were not very successful at this however, and when they were about halfway there, they were set upon by two drow. The drow were able to web their opponents in place several times, but the party still dispatched of them easily.

Rewards

• 2,400 XP each. Time to level up!

Session #35: The City of Death

The battle in the docks raged on. In time, the trolls also fell, but the last illithid refused to expire. Again and again he dominated Edge and cut the knees out from under the rest of the party. His blows fell especially hard on Tselem, and in the end, the shapeshifter was unable to withstand them. In a final horrible move, the illithid knocked Tselem unconscious and split open his skull, killing him instantly.

The horrified party rallied the last of the their strength and finally tore the illithid apart. Exhausted and stricken with grief, they looked around and realized they were in the midst of a goblin city, surrounded by enemies, with not much left in the tank to face what comes next.

Rewards

• 10,114 XP each.
• Elven Cloak +4 (Player's Handbook, p. 250).
• Everyone has gained 1 action point.

Session #34: The City of Fear

Baron von Mucharsen turned out to be a very amiable individual who was more than happy to hire them. He said he was very impressed by how easily they dispatched those ogres, and was open to their desire to take on special assignments. He said that Breland had already sent two different forces to try and seize the city of Vralkek. Due to it's position on the central Scar River, taking the city would be a big strategic advantage, but both forces had been completely annihilated, and the Baron didn't know why. Would the party be willing to go and see what they could find, and report back (either in person or via sending a message)? The party agreed, to the tune of 100 GP per month (per member).

The party didn't have much to do in town, so they pretty much went straight to the boat the Baron had chartered for them. Their journey to Vralkek took three days, taking them down Wroat Creek, into the Dagger River, out into the Thunder Sea, and north to Manta Bay.

Around noon on 15 Lharvion, the captain of the ship landed on a cape about an hour's walk southeast of the city. The party made their way towards it, debating their course of action. When they arrived there, they found it had high stone walls with guards atop them. Tselem decided to disguise himself as a goblin and go look around inside the city. Taumir decided to sneak along the walls themselves and see what he could find. Edge and Azeri felt these course of action were not particularly wise, but they decided to try and sneak in themselves. They were seen almost immediately, but they managed to avoid the 'citizen' that had spotted them and start making their way down the coast towards the docks.

Inside the city, Tselem-goblin initially didn't find much of interest, so he headed down to the docks. Taumir utterly failed to find anything of note on or around the walls, but he remained unseen as he too made his way around the walls to the docks. Edge and Azeri were able to sneak onto the piers as well.

Down at the docks, Tselem was still loitering about when he noticed a strange figure in a dark cloak. This figure was giving orders to some trolls, and the goblins of the city were treating it with great deference. As Tselem watched, he noticed that he was having trouble concentrating, almost as if there was a psychic field present. Then the figure turned and Tselem saw the squid-like face of the creature. He wondered - could this be one of the feared illithids he'd heard such dark tales about?

Tselem decided to put some distance between him and figure. At that moment, he noticed Edge and Azeri staying out of sight behind some boxes, and started moving towards them. At this, the illithid began coming towards them. He apparently saw through Tselem's disguise, for he summoned another one of his kind, two trolls and three grimlocks, and they attacked the party!

At the sound of the commotion, Taumir finally located his fellows, but he had a lot of ground to cover before he could reach them. A close-quarters battle formed between the other three party members and the creatures. Azeri was in rare form - she used several well-placed divine attacks, and the party quickly dispatched the grimlocks and the second illithid. The trolls and the first illithid did not retire so easily, though, and by the time Taumir joined the fray, the outcome of the fight was by no means certain...

Rewards

• 1,000 XP each for Azeri, Taumir, and Tselem (I'm treating the repeated skill checks you did as a skill encounter)
• 1,000 GP total (this is found treasure - the Baron has not paid you yet).

Session #18: The Heroes

The party stopped to catch their breath, reeling a little bit from the fight. As they did, from above, Sheshka applauded their victory. She then informed them that all visitors to her castle are hers to do with as she pleases, and most of the time, for humans, that means they get turned to stone, or worse. Their little vendetta with Zelian has sufficiently amused her, and their victory has sufficiently impressed her that she is willing to give them the gift of leaving with their lives. The party fumed, and Tselem in particular was itching to attack Zelian, but they simply weren't able to mount another attack in their weakened state. So they took her offer, and left the castle. The guards gave them itchy looks as they passed by, but they were able to depart unmolested.

By this time, dusk was hastening on, so the party made their way back to the caves outside of 'town' to rest for the night, and plan their next attempt on Zelian's life. They devised a strategy where they would lead Sheshka to believe that Zelian was about to betray her, and parley another chance to attack him through these means. They wrote fake letters for this purpose, then went to sleep.

The next morning, the 5th day of Dravago, the party awoke, prepared, and headed out. To their surprise and alarm, as soon as they started coming down from the caves, they met Zelian! Their battle commenced, with Zelian being joined shortly by six hulking ogres! The fight was vicious and choatic, but Azeri and Elane surrounded Zelian and laid into him with their most impressive spells. The wicked sorcerer was knocked unconscious by the force of their attacks. At first, Azeri was hesitant to kill him outright, and even persuaded Elane to not go for the killing blow just yet. But then she reconsidered, and Elane needed no encouragement to deliver the final strike.

Moments later, the last of the ogres fell too, and Elane let out a shout of triumph.

Zelian d'Deneith, the power-hungry, filicidal public enemy, was dead!

Rewards

• 3,700 XP. Time to level up to 11, and enter the paragon tier!

Session #17: The Long Fight

The party struggled against the remaining two Medusas. They eventually realized that Tselem's stinking cloud wasn't doing what it was supposed to, since Medusas aren't damaged by poison attacks. Azeri and Elane found themselves being worn down by the powerful warriors. Edge and Taumir landed some serious blows, and finally, both vile creatures were disintegrated by lightning attacks.

Rewards

• 3,125 XP! Time to level up!

Session #16: The Bargins with Monsters

The party roused themselves, as well as Reita & Akta. While gathering some food for breakfast, Azeri and Reita chatted a little bit. As they were all about to continue on their way to Owl's Perch, a few days journey north, they saw some people coming down the road. The party and co. made themselves inconspicuous, only to realize that it was Elane and some of her guards! Taumir and Tselem were still a little apprehensive, but Azeri welcomed her with open arms, and everyone's fears were soon put to rest. Elane expressed astonishment at all that had happened, and then delivered grave news: Zelian had gone Cazhaak Draal, in the heart of Droaam. She feared he was courting the favor of Sheshka, the Queen of Stone, a wicked Medusa, in hopes of gaining dark allies. Elane revealed that she had known for some time that Zelian wants House Deneith to take over the world, and fears this is him escalating his plan.

Troubled by this new development, the party put Reita and Akta into the hands of the Church of the Silver Flame, and then headed back to Varna, along with Elane. Once there, they used Elane's money to teleport them her and themselves to Sylbaran, the last civilized city before the Droaam border. They arrived there around mid-day, and spent the next two and a half days traveling across back roads and increasingly wild territory before finally arriving at Cazhaak Draal.

Cazhaak Draal is a ruin, a crumbling fortress. By human standards it is a haunted, deserted place, but here in Droaam, such places teem with monster life. Creatures of every variety were found roaming, bartering, and fighting with each other. Given the lateness of the hour, the party decided to hole up in one of the caves outside of town, and wiled away the evening sharing stories. The next morning, on the 4th day of Dravago, they went back into 'town', asking questions of the denizens and trying to formulate a plan. They had learned from a friendly Tiefling (Tselem posed as one and won his trust) that Sheshka will tolerate human visitors if they bring her large, expensive presents. The party had been hanging onto some armor that was a little too heavy for them, and they decided to use this as a present to get in the door. They approached the castle, presented their gift, and were admitted.

As they party had discussed, when they were finally permitted to speak to the queen a few hours later, they revealed they had a vendetta against Zelian d'Deneith, and demanded the chance to face him in battle. The queen was amused, and with a wicked smile, agreed to the tournament. The party was ushered into a courtyard, but it appeared the queen had double-crossed them, as she sent two Medusas and two Snaketongue cultists to fight them instead. The cultists proved easy prey, and Tselem was even able to take a potshot at Zelian as he and Sheska watched the fight from box seats. But then the Medusas stepped up their game, and suddenly the outcome didn't seem quite so clear...

Rewards

• (As the fight is not yet finished, no XP rewards just yet. Great role-playing though!)
• You have found an Elemental Twist Dagger (level 10 magic item, Player's Handbook 2, p. 204).
• You have found 1,400 GP (to split amongst yourselves).