Dale had been working in the Library and became curious about my first adventure outside of Throal. Helping Ka'av and his Sky Knights defend Juniper's Hollow from Raiders. They want to know more about the Sky Knights and their leader, Lord Pel. Dale gathered us, Nergae, Barag, and Strata to join him for the investigation.
Day 1
We encountered a flock of Chakta Birds who spoke in our minds. They seemed friendly enough, though they occasionally glanced at us as if sizing us up. We made nice enough with food and introductions. The only useful information they shared with us was that wolves were in the area.
The birds were barely out of sight when Strata is attacked by a pack of wolves. We rush to assist him and reduce the pressure enough that he's able to use his Wood Skin to prolong his life. Nergae's wolf, Dumpling, is knocked out in the skirmish. Barag and I treat the injured. After we establish this is a safe area, we make camp.
Day 2
Mostly recovered, we make the rest of the trip to Juniper's Hollow.
We ask around about the Sky Knights and get strange responses from the townsfolk. Dale gets an elderly dwarf to share a book from his library that he hands to Dale. “Lord Pel and the Fabulous Sky Knights” a pre-Scourge child’s tale.
The dwarf explains that when Junipers Hollow was founded, they had many hardships. A Human Cavalryman, Jared, ran into something that drove him a little mad. After that, he started calling himself Lord Pel. He gathered followers, did some good, but sometimes the trees are horrible monsters. He can be rather inspiring, even if he is insane. Ka’av works with him, he and Jared go way back.
They have some problems and could use his help currently. Pride of about 5 lions (1 male, 4 females) moved into the area to the East. Every few days they raid the town. Nergae knows they’re Ambush predators, so we set up a trap.
Lord Pel’s lands start a days ride from here to the West. Campsite on some pre-Scourge ruins.
We set up the ambush and wait a long time. Around dawn, Dale notices them via his Astral Sense, and wakes up the rest of us.
Ambushing the ambush predators worked well, and the pen limited their mobility, while still allowing our Magicians to hit their targets. Their pride was four females and a male. We knocked out two females and killed the male. The remainder fled. Nergae attempted to Bond with one of the females.
A short time later, we've performed our morning rituals, and head East to the camp of "Lord Pel."
Day 3
The ruins were home to a good number of Namegivers. Their tents were ruined, their corpses strewn everywhere, showing signs of being eaten. I found Ka'ag lying dead, weapon nearby. At least he died fighting.
Dale noticed a small group of Ghouls with his Astral Sense. They hadn't noticed us yet, so we had time to prepare. Dale and Barag cast a few spells on all of us just in time. Stratta found a defensible location for them to make a line. Quechir and I waited for the enemy to commit themselves, and took out their flanking force. Then wheeled around to come in behind the other ghouls and pinch them between us. Quechir's jump training paid off with those small ruins walls.
We found the body of "Lord Pel," next to a dead horse. He had a journal of "The New Adventures of Lord Pel and his Fabulous Sky Knights." It referred back to some of the old stories, but it detailed many new adventures. To be safe, we make a large pyre to burn all the bodies. There were a lot of ghouls sent this way, the Sky Knights took down many before they were killed. Was it a large roving band of ghouls, or something more coordinated?Statistics:Posted by Dougansf — Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:07 pm
]]>