May 31, 2020
LFG [5M]: Tale of the Dusty Trail 2020-05-31@17:00 GMT
From the Journal of Xeviouz, Human Warrior/Horror Stalker
Sandrin the Elf Airsailer, Nez the Beastmaster, Moe'uhane the Illusionist and myself are recruited to assist Temur the Orc Spirit Rider with one of his adventures. We start off at hex33.08. We were merchant guards, and in the middle of a battle with giant axe faced birds, the merchant ran off and we didn't notice what way he went. We are beaten up but we decide to continue on the way towards where the settlement we were headed to. As we begin to move, there is a small flock of birds the fly down, land in a straight line and begin to introduce themselves to us with little voices in our heads. So wanting to be polite we all step forward one by one and introduce ourselves to the birds. We converse with the birds. Claws that Hold is the leaders name, he asks us to tell others of his kind that we may meet, that he waits at the mouth of the river. He tells us of a village nearby that we could rest. He says there are good people there.
We start heading off towards the village Claws that Hold told us about and find it at 35.09. As we approach we can see there are dwarfs but no Wingdings, Trolls or Obsidian. Jarmen, Hulkin and Samanar come out from the village to greet us. We do greeting rituals. The name of the village is Phelgil. We are invited to come to the village and join the festivities. It is the name day of the first child born outside the Kaer. They have been out of there Kaer for less than a year. The party is setup in the village clearing, then everybody begins to head into the jungle. When asked about it, Jarmin says the ceremony of naming will be done in the jungle. We go with the villagers.
There is a small building in the jungle with a spiral pattern on the floor, the family with the new baby is in the center, the villagers all cram into the building. THe gathering is mostly Elven, Human and Dwarfs. THe baby is named Thawild. There is much rejoicing. The party is massive and intense. Lots of carnival games and food and drink of al kinds. TOwards the end of the evening we are all offered beds to sleep. After a few hours of sleep we are all woken up by a loud scream of “Hes GONE!”
The babys mother Aymla is distraught, the father is very upset. The windows were open on this warm night. Somebody came in and stole the child away. Temur is able to use his Tracking Talent to determine that yes indeed somebody snuck up to the window and stole the baby. We gear up and follow the tracks via Temur. We notice an old human man coming out of a house putting on the last bit of his old leather armor. He is carrying a spear. He is insisting on coming with us to find the child. We try to be polite and get the elder to stay here, but he whistles and 2 massive dogs come out of the house and stand next to the oldman. We follow the tracks deep into the jungle to about 37.10.
We are following the track through the jungle, we come to a large fallen tree across a very dirty looking river, the tracks go across the fallen tree. We follow and after we cross we are set upon by 3 small furry creatures. Later I am told these vicious little creatures are called Crojen. THey are mean! We are able to kill 2 and knockout the last one. Nez tries to make it one of his animal companions. As soon as the Crojen wakes up, it runs off. We continue on the trail looking for the stolen child.
We come to a clearing with a large stone building that is overgrown with vines and roots of trees. There is a storm brewing overhead and the building seems to be the center of the storms eye. We head into what is a dark temple. We follow the trail and come to a dead end, looks as if they had been struck by poisoned dart traps. The child is not there. The old humans dogs are pointing down a side corridor. We follow the dogs. Several times we come to dead ends with bodies recently killed by darts, until we reach what we believe is the center of the temple. There is a wolf headed guy next to an alter. 2 large birds on flaming braziers, and a large hairless wolf. The guy seems to be holding the missing baby and is about to sacrifice him. He notices us, screams something in a bizarre language and darts off. Then the hairless wolf gets up and howls at us. Battle begins
We hold back at first as all the dead people in the room get up and start towards us. The large birds turn out to be Storm Crows and launch lightning at us. Moe is able to take out all the zombie like dead people with an Illusion fireball. But it killed all the zombies, so I guess it wasn't an illusion. After all the enemies are defeated we run into the chamber that the painted guy took the child. He is in there chanting getting ready to kill the child. We are able to dispatch him quickly and we pick up the child. We head back to the village and return the child. The entire village is extremely happy. We head back to Throal.
AAR [5M]: Tale of the Dusty Trail 2020-05-31@17:00 GMT
Moderator:etherial
Re: AAR [5M]: Tale of the Dusty Trail 2020-05-31@17:00 GMT
The Written Histories of Nez and ….
We are accompanying a caravan on a dirt road and quite some distance west of Throal and our carts with the merchant seem to be gone. We were attacked by 7 foot tall hatchet faced birds, but the details of the crackbill attack are hazy as the caravan took off without us.
Suddenly a flock of birds, crimson and gold form a line before us. Claws that Hold, Beak with Sharpness, Smoothfeathers, Eyes that Glitter, Wide Tail Introduced themselves and we introduced ourselves back. They offered us rest at a town to the southeast. They were Chakta Birds who demanded courtesy. Warned us of the large Crackbills.
Jarmel, Hulked and some others greet us at the village of Thellgill and we perform our greeting rituals. They are offering us to join them in the first naming feast since leaving their Kaer. This is a great honor.
The family consisting of an Elf, Human and Elf boy in a stone structure with the residents move into a spiral pattern. They named the boy Thalwild and each part of the spiral repeats the name. After the naming we head outside to the feast and join in on some games. At the end of the party we settle down and go into a slumber which is interrupted by a loud shriek “He is gone!”
The whole town comes outside to see the distraught mom Aymla. Temur was able to track some footprints out of their home. The boy's grandfather came with some rusted gear and said he was going to help. With some objection from Temur, the argument went to the elder when he brought out two gigantic hunting dogs.
We followed the tracks and it appeared that just outside the village the tracks paused for a bit and I noticed that the suspect joined up with many other name givers.
Following the kidnappers we are ambushed by some very fierce Crojens 35.09. Much to my delight I have finally found Sagarmartha. Two of his companions that were misleading him were disposed of but I nursed Sagarmarth back to health. It was very odd that he did not fully recognize me and ran off. I now know where Sagarmartha is waiting for me!
We came upon a large open stone fort covered in vines when a storm began to brew at the same time. We follow through the Fort in a labyrinth of hallways. At the dead ends of the fort several people are dead by what looks like traps.
At the massive center of the fort there is another large entrance with a giant hairless Wolf and two large Crows standing over the fire.
A man who looks very unnatural with black paint swirls all over his body, had a bamboo stick and was holding a young elven boy. The man yells with an Elven accent in an unknown tongue and then runs into the room. I tried to dominate the hairless beast but he did not obey my command.
We were then assailed by many undead corpses, the crows were able to control lightning. The wolf worked as a storm wolf with the storm interfering greatly. I noticed a horrendous disfigured monkey laughing to the side and the corpses gathered around. Moe asked us to hold tight and warned us to disbelief the giant ball of fire. It was very startling to see him drop the ball of fire at our feet and it destroyed nearly all the unnatural corpses and allowed the last crow to be cleaned up. I was able to finish off the hairless storm wolf even with the monkey suppressing my energy but, unfortunately the storm did not stop.
We then were able to focus on the evil monkey Temur charged over with great speed on his mount and sliced into it with his axe. The horrendous monkey which I can only assume is the most unnatural of beings known as a Horror disappeared into the woods or was it the astral plane? This was my first encounter with such a creature and the legends are all true.
We returned to the village as heroes. This is the first time I have felt such a thing, although I still worry about the villagers living so close to such terrible things.
I am more determined than ever to find Sagarmartha. I believe he guided me to the fort and new that he was too injured to continue on.
We are accompanying a caravan on a dirt road and quite some distance west of Throal and our carts with the merchant seem to be gone. We were attacked by 7 foot tall hatchet faced birds, but the details of the crackbill attack are hazy as the caravan took off without us.
Suddenly a flock of birds, crimson and gold form a line before us. Claws that Hold, Beak with Sharpness, Smoothfeathers, Eyes that Glitter, Wide Tail Introduced themselves and we introduced ourselves back. They offered us rest at a town to the southeast. They were Chakta Birds who demanded courtesy. Warned us of the large Crackbills.
Jarmel, Hulked and some others greet us at the village of Thellgill and we perform our greeting rituals. They are offering us to join them in the first naming feast since leaving their Kaer. This is a great honor.
The family consisting of an Elf, Human and Elf boy in a stone structure with the residents move into a spiral pattern. They named the boy Thalwild and each part of the spiral repeats the name. After the naming we head outside to the feast and join in on some games. At the end of the party we settle down and go into a slumber which is interrupted by a loud shriek “He is gone!”
The whole town comes outside to see the distraught mom Aymla. Temur was able to track some footprints out of their home. The boy's grandfather came with some rusted gear and said he was going to help. With some objection from Temur, the argument went to the elder when he brought out two gigantic hunting dogs.
We followed the tracks and it appeared that just outside the village the tracks paused for a bit and I noticed that the suspect joined up with many other name givers.
Following the kidnappers we are ambushed by some very fierce Crojens 35.09. Much to my delight I have finally found Sagarmartha. Two of his companions that were misleading him were disposed of but I nursed Sagarmarth back to health. It was very odd that he did not fully recognize me and ran off. I now know where Sagarmartha is waiting for me!
We came upon a large open stone fort covered in vines when a storm began to brew at the same time. We follow through the Fort in a labyrinth of hallways. At the dead ends of the fort several people are dead by what looks like traps.
At the massive center of the fort there is another large entrance with a giant hairless Wolf and two large Crows standing over the fire.
A man who looks very unnatural with black paint swirls all over his body, had a bamboo stick and was holding a young elven boy. The man yells with an Elven accent in an unknown tongue and then runs into the room. I tried to dominate the hairless beast but he did not obey my command.
We were then assailed by many undead corpses, the crows were able to control lightning. The wolf worked as a storm wolf with the storm interfering greatly. I noticed a horrendous disfigured monkey laughing to the side and the corpses gathered around. Moe asked us to hold tight and warned us to disbelief the giant ball of fire. It was very startling to see him drop the ball of fire at our feet and it destroyed nearly all the unnatural corpses and allowed the last crow to be cleaned up. I was able to finish off the hairless storm wolf even with the monkey suppressing my energy but, unfortunately the storm did not stop.
We then were able to focus on the evil monkey Temur charged over with great speed on his mount and sliced into it with his axe. The horrendous monkey which I can only assume is the most unnatural of beings known as a Horror disappeared into the woods or was it the astral plane? This was my first encounter with such a creature and the legends are all true.
We returned to the village as heroes. This is the first time I have felt such a thing, although I still worry about the villagers living so close to such terrible things.
I am more determined than ever to find Sagarmartha. I believe he guided me to the fort and new that he was too injured to continue on.
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bronzemountain
- Posts:606
- Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm
Journal: Temur Tengerkhan
Song of the Immortal Sky - Part 7
Know that sometimes, even the greatest of Adepts find themselves lost on the road. Know that it is by being lost that one finds the secret threads of destiny.
Temur of the Monkhiin-Tenger did find himself upon a dusty road along with Sandrin of the Laughing Winds, Xeviouz Thundershield, Moe'Uhane the River of Truth, and Nez the Innocent. They had fought off an attack from a flock of Crakbills, but the merchant they were to protect had run off.
Know that these adepts were now very, very orange.
They set out on the road to see if they could find this merchant, and pay for their sweat and their blood. Instead, they found a flock of Chakta birds - the mindspeakers of the wind whose feathers are crimson and gold and who value respect and good manners above all other things.
Know that Temur can be polite. Know that this is not a joke. Know that I am totally serious and for real when I say this.
The others were also polite, and many were more so. The birds spoke of a settlement, not far away, and lent them directions. Their speaker was Claws that Hold, and he asked that the Adepts tell any other Chakta birds that they saw that Claws that Hold did wait for them at the mouth of the river (37.08).
The Adepts traveled to the village and found that it was a good place. Hale and healthy and fruitful. It was called Thelgil (Hex 35.09) by the people who worked the land and its people, mostly elves with a mix of humans and dwarves, were content. They welcomed the Adepts with a feast, and let them join the celebration of a new life. A woman named Aymla and her husband were christening their year old child: Thalwild.
Know that there was good food, and good drink, and good cheer, and that is all that is best in life.
On the wings of the next morning came the plaintive cries unique to parents who have lost a child. Someone had kidnapped young Thalwild. The Adepts rushed forward to help, to examine, to track.
Know that Temur did this all naked. Know that it does not require pants to find tracks or, indeed, to do many important things. Know that, having found the tracks, and before the Adepts did set out, Temur did put on his pants. Know and be grateful.
The Adepts, along with the child's grandfather and his loyal dogs, did follow the tracks of the perpetrators into the Servos jungle. These were dogs like unto the ones some tribes of Orks raised and loved. For these dogs did guard the caravans and watch the herds and fight side by side with their two-legged brethren.
Know that Temur was both impressed and envious.
In the jungle, the band was ambushed by cats that stalk the shadows. Furious and small, ferocious and adorable. They are known as Crojen, and they are nearly absolutely silent. They attack from ambush, but are fearless, and once they taste blood they will rage - even if it means attacking their own.
Know that these brave, proud Adepts were victorious, but wounded. Know that Nez the Innocent did feel the pain of these creatures, for they attacked out of hunger, and not malice. It was his way to feel for the beasts and to know their souls. It was also his way to rip beasts apart with his claws, which were sometimes as large in part as he was in full. He was like the Crojen, innocent and menacing at once.
The Adepts did rest, and after resting, they did continue, which is more or less the heart of every story of Adepts ever written.
They came upon an ancient place. A stone walled building built into the earth, caught in viney embrace. The tracks went in, and thus so did the Adepts, though they felt some menace in this place. Overhead did stormclouds gather, swifter than nature ever intended.
Know that in this place a madman attempted to sacrifice the child Thalwild on some foul altar to appease some foul Horrorspawned thing. Know that he was served by a storm-bound wolf of oily skin and no fur and eyes of death. Know that he was attended by two crows who summoned lightning from the wolf-storm. Know that he was guarded by corpses that moved as if pulled by puppet strings; dangerous in numbers but weak in person.
Together, they would have overwhelmed the Adepts. But Moe'Uhane who Knows the Truth told them a very powerful lie. He told them that the air was fire and that it rolled hungry across their flesh and scorching into their dessicated lungs. And the corpses and the crows did believe the lie, and in believing, they fell like coals to the ground.
Know that there was one of the smallest of the Horrors there (ed. Descriptions match references to Kreescra.). Know that it whispered words of oil and discontent to curse the luck of the Adepts. Know that Adepts do not need luck, when courage will do.
The Horror had no courage. And thus, it fled, and escaped. The madman was slain, the child recovered, the parents overjoyed, and the village grateful. In honor, the villagers offered a boon. And humbly, Temur of the Monkhiin-Tenger did accept two pups from the old man's dog's litter; a male and a female. Now, his people would have their loyal companions again.
Know that this story has ended. Know that this story continues.
Know that sometimes, even the greatest of Adepts find themselves lost on the road. Know that it is by being lost that one finds the secret threads of destiny.
Temur of the Monkhiin-Tenger did find himself upon a dusty road along with Sandrin of the Laughing Winds, Xeviouz Thundershield, Moe'Uhane the River of Truth, and Nez the Innocent. They had fought off an attack from a flock of Crakbills, but the merchant they were to protect had run off.
Know that these adepts were now very, very orange.
They set out on the road to see if they could find this merchant, and pay for their sweat and their blood. Instead, they found a flock of Chakta birds - the mindspeakers of the wind whose feathers are crimson and gold and who value respect and good manners above all other things.
Know that Temur can be polite. Know that this is not a joke. Know that I am totally serious and for real when I say this.
The others were also polite, and many were more so. The birds spoke of a settlement, not far away, and lent them directions. Their speaker was Claws that Hold, and he asked that the Adepts tell any other Chakta birds that they saw that Claws that Hold did wait for them at the mouth of the river (37.08).
The Adepts traveled to the village and found that it was a good place. Hale and healthy and fruitful. It was called Thelgil (Hex 35.09) by the people who worked the land and its people, mostly elves with a mix of humans and dwarves, were content. They welcomed the Adepts with a feast, and let them join the celebration of a new life. A woman named Aymla and her husband were christening their year old child: Thalwild.
Know that there was good food, and good drink, and good cheer, and that is all that is best in life.
On the wings of the next morning came the plaintive cries unique to parents who have lost a child. Someone had kidnapped young Thalwild. The Adepts rushed forward to help, to examine, to track.
Know that Temur did this all naked. Know that it does not require pants to find tracks or, indeed, to do many important things. Know that, having found the tracks, and before the Adepts did set out, Temur did put on his pants. Know and be grateful.
The Adepts, along with the child's grandfather and his loyal dogs, did follow the tracks of the perpetrators into the Servos jungle. These were dogs like unto the ones some tribes of Orks raised and loved. For these dogs did guard the caravans and watch the herds and fight side by side with their two-legged brethren.
Know that Temur was both impressed and envious.
In the jungle, the band was ambushed by cats that stalk the shadows. Furious and small, ferocious and adorable. They are known as Crojen, and they are nearly absolutely silent. They attack from ambush, but are fearless, and once they taste blood they will rage - even if it means attacking their own.
Know that these brave, proud Adepts were victorious, but wounded. Know that Nez the Innocent did feel the pain of these creatures, for they attacked out of hunger, and not malice. It was his way to feel for the beasts and to know their souls. It was also his way to rip beasts apart with his claws, which were sometimes as large in part as he was in full. He was like the Crojen, innocent and menacing at once.
The Adepts did rest, and after resting, they did continue, which is more or less the heart of every story of Adepts ever written.
They came upon an ancient place. A stone walled building built into the earth, caught in viney embrace. The tracks went in, and thus so did the Adepts, though they felt some menace in this place. Overhead did stormclouds gather, swifter than nature ever intended.
Know that in this place a madman attempted to sacrifice the child Thalwild on some foul altar to appease some foul Horrorspawned thing. Know that he was served by a storm-bound wolf of oily skin and no fur and eyes of death. Know that he was attended by two crows who summoned lightning from the wolf-storm. Know that he was guarded by corpses that moved as if pulled by puppet strings; dangerous in numbers but weak in person.
Together, they would have overwhelmed the Adepts. But Moe'Uhane who Knows the Truth told them a very powerful lie. He told them that the air was fire and that it rolled hungry across their flesh and scorching into their dessicated lungs. And the corpses and the crows did believe the lie, and in believing, they fell like coals to the ground.
Know that there was one of the smallest of the Horrors there (ed. Descriptions match references to Kreescra.). Know that it whispered words of oil and discontent to curse the luck of the Adepts. Know that Adepts do not need luck, when courage will do.
The Horror had no courage. And thus, it fled, and escaped. The madman was slain, the child recovered, the parents overjoyed, and the village grateful. In honor, the villagers offered a boon. And humbly, Temur of the Monkhiin-Tenger did accept two pups from the old man's dog's litter; a male and a female. Now, his people would have their loyal companions again.
Know that this story has ended. Know that this story continues.
Re: AAR [5M]: Tale of the Dusty Trail 2020-05-31@17:00 GMT
From the writings of Moe'uhane, T'skrang Illusionist, 5th Circle
Temur had come around looking help on a job that he assured me was easy money. We were to provide protection for a merchant caravan that was trying to be the first to blaze a trade route to a rumoured settlement to the west and the merchant would pay handsomely on arrival.
Nez, Sandrin, Temur, Xeviouz and I travelled with the caravan for a number of days with minimal issues. However as we approached the midway point of our journey we were ambushed by a flock of Crakbills. Either the size of the orange gouts coming from their mouth spooked our caravan master, as he immediately bolted. By the time the fight concluded several minutes later, the caravan was nowhere to be seen. We were cleaning ourselves up, trying to determine the best course of action when a small flock of birds flew down onto the roadway.
They were not aggressive so we made no move towards them, we were in the company of a beastmaster, there was minimal concern. The first one hopped forward and we heard it's voice resonate within our minds. He introduced himself as Claws-that-hold, the second hopped forward as the first moved back introducting himself as Beak-with-sharpness. The remaining three followed suit, being Smooth-feathers, Eyes-that-glitter, and Wide-tail. They advised us that the Crakbills were quite aggressive and we were lucky to have handled them so easily. The suggested that there was a nearby settlement slightly east and south of where we were currently. With all other known civilizations being a number of days away we thanked them for the information and followed them towards the village. All then asked in return was to inform others of their kind that Claws that hold is at the mount of the river in the jungle. Apparently the birds had been quite many before 'the happening' and were rather social by nature.
As we turned to leave the road a glint of metal caught my eye. As I stooped down to pick it up it appeared to be a silver ear loop. This was something special, I could feel the truth behind it's simple demeanor. I will look more into this bauble when we make it back to Throal.
As we approached the edge of the jungle, we began to encounter large sprawling fields and noticed the shape of Namegivers in the distance. They seemed to be carrying barrels and hampers. As we drew closer, our approach was noticed, and we were greeted by a small ragtag group of defenders wielding farm tools. We performed the ritual of greeting and as they enjoyed the fanciful drink I had prepared, advised that we should join them as today was a day of celebration and festivity. They advised us that the village was named Thelgil and today marked the naming day of the first child born since exiting the kaer. Based upon their description of farming seasons we surmised that they had been outside the kaer for somewhere within the neighbourhood of a year. We could make out more clearly now that the people in the distance were carrying baskets of food and casks of wine. Everyone moved towards the town centre, where the houses and people grew more dense. The people were dropping goods off in the centre of town where the party was inevitably going to occur and then moved into the jungle. Our guides advised us that the naming ritual would take place in the jungle and lead us through a verdant tunnel of greenery twisting deeper into the jungle. We emerged into a clearing with a large squat stone building with a small amount of moss on it and no door. We were led into the chamber that contained a skylight in the roof allowing sunlight to flow down onto a central dais where and elven man, stood with a human woman and young elven boy, the family assumedly. The remainder of the room radiated out from the dais in a spiral pattern with round stepstones spaced evenly. The design was evidently made for a single person to stand on the stepstone, however because of the momentous occasion, the whole village crowded the room with multiple people sharing the stones. We could see more clearly now that village was predominantly elven, with an even split of dwarves and humans after that.
The boy was named Talwild, starting closest to the dais each person intoned his name reinforcing the magic associated to it. We then made our way back to town to engage in festivities and revelry. Sandrin and Nex participated in a rock tossing competition, even though the rock was larger than Nez. Temur took the immediate opportunity to engage in as many forms of wrestling he could find, being all the more eager when grease or oil was involved. Xeviouz mingle and sampled the meads and wines. I attempted to enhance the atmosphere by adding glamours of lights and mild explosives where I felt they would have the most effect. This continued into the night, and while some of the villagers partied until they fell over, all of our party managed to find a bed. Just before dawn we were awoken by screaming, "He's gone!" echoed across the village. We all rushed to find the source of the trouble, some of us in more of a hurry than others. Aymla, the mother of Talwild was wailing, his father just behind her ashen faced. Temur queried as to the problem, and she again wailed that he was gone, her son was taken. Someone had crept in through the window and unbarred the door and made off with her son. Temur investigated and harnessed the magic of a War Rider to locate the tracks of the abductors. Everyone gathered their gear and we prepared to make off, however we were joined by the boys elderly grandfather and his large hounds. The tracks lead to the edge of the jungle, where Nez determined that a group of accomplices joined the abductor.
We continued to track the kidnappers through the day and as we came to a river in the jungle, it was apparent by both Temur's magic and the nose of the hounds that the culprits had crossed via a fallen tree. We hurried across and no sooner had our feet touched the ground on the other side then we were leapt upon by jungle predators, or maybe the pups of predators? The small furred beasts attacked with a ferocity greater than their size, knocking some of us down and latching into the legs of others. Nez was taken by the beasts, sure that it was his lost spirit guide Saggamotha. Though we eventually regrouped enough to scare one off and down another. A third one was knocked unconscious and we bound and held the beast so that Nez may attempt to sway it's attitude and confirm if this was Saggamotha. The beast proved as willful as it was rambunctious and bounded off with the food offered to it. We tended to our wounds and collected ourselves to press on. The trail was rediscovered and we pushed forward again.
We tracked the criminals all day, and as the sun began to dip low in the sky we came into a clearing. Here sat an ominous stone temple covered in vines and moss. There was no door, so we pushed forward. As we entered the path descended into a labyrinthine tunnel system. Luckily for us, the boys captors had no better knowledge of this place than we did. Time after time, as we took a wrong turn and ended up a dead end, we found that one or more of the captors had truly found this to be a dead end, with traps sprung and the unfortunate souls being the recipient. Finally we came into a large ornate chamber with carvings in the floors and walls, and a large serpent mouth against the far wall, it's gullet leading futher into the temple. At the far side of this room stood a man with a disturbing design painted upon his face holding Talwild in one hand and some sort of weapon in the other. A strange looking singed wolf stood beside him and they were flanked on either side by storm crows. He gestured and ranted at us in a language that none of us undersood, but the actions were clearly hostile and the animals all became aggressive as he fled through the stone serpent mouth. As he fled a number of corpses in the room began to animate, we were about to be overwhelmed. We stayed calm and assessed the situation and waited for the enemy to approach and make a mistake. The wolf stirred up a storm, and the crows attempted to swoop in and call lightning. The first made a desperate swoop towards us that was intercepted by Xeviouz's shield, and followed up with a stab to pin the thing to the ground. Though the bolt of lightning still found it's mark and I felt the current flow through my tail to the ground once again. The second was more restrained and while the lightning landed, it did not press forward as deep. The shambling corpses moved forward, and just as they threated to surround and overwhelm him, Temur galloped off to prepare himself for a charge. The wolf was injured by Sandrin's sword flying through the air and garnered the beast full attention. Finally as the last of the corpses fell upon us, it was time to spring the trap. We had discussed strategy previously and I had advised my compatriots that the trick to an illusion is that it only hurts when you believe it will, they knew the key phrase to suspend belief and accept that the flames cannot harm them. As I bellowed the words the fireball erupted at my feet, engulfing all but two of the corpses and the wolf. The illusion provided the sizzle of flesh as they dropped. A single storm crow remained within the blast zone as he fell to the ground disoriented. We turned the remainder of our attention to the wolf and remaining two animated corpses, as well as a evil creature in the shadows that Nez had pointed out. We finished the remaining corpses and beasts and the evil creature retreated as Temur and Xeviouz descended upon him.
We did not hesitate to follow the man down the tunnel, we caught up with him in another chamber where he turned to us and began chanting and gesturing again. I know not what he was doing; if it was supposed to have been a spell, he performed it incorrectly. A heartbeat later the fiend was cut down, not taking any chances in what he may be able to conjure if we let him live. The boy was reunited with his grandfather and we made a quickened pace on the most direct route back to the village. The family and all the village rejoiced at the boys return and we celebrated again. They provided us with food for the journey back to Throal, and Temur gained the companionship of two new puppies that the old man's hounds had recently birthed. Another adventure, another cult it seems. We may need to return and investigate more into if any of them remain. The handsome pay is likely dead on the road somewhere and we may need to retrieve the remnants if our honour is questioned, but I think the discovery and introduction of a new trading partner will provide enough distraction to worry about blame for a fools actions.
Temur had come around looking help on a job that he assured me was easy money. We were to provide protection for a merchant caravan that was trying to be the first to blaze a trade route to a rumoured settlement to the west and the merchant would pay handsomely on arrival.
Nez, Sandrin, Temur, Xeviouz and I travelled with the caravan for a number of days with minimal issues. However as we approached the midway point of our journey we were ambushed by a flock of Crakbills. Either the size of the orange gouts coming from their mouth spooked our caravan master, as he immediately bolted. By the time the fight concluded several minutes later, the caravan was nowhere to be seen. We were cleaning ourselves up, trying to determine the best course of action when a small flock of birds flew down onto the roadway.
They were not aggressive so we made no move towards them, we were in the company of a beastmaster, there was minimal concern. The first one hopped forward and we heard it's voice resonate within our minds. He introduced himself as Claws-that-hold, the second hopped forward as the first moved back introducting himself as Beak-with-sharpness. The remaining three followed suit, being Smooth-feathers, Eyes-that-glitter, and Wide-tail. They advised us that the Crakbills were quite aggressive and we were lucky to have handled them so easily. The suggested that there was a nearby settlement slightly east and south of where we were currently. With all other known civilizations being a number of days away we thanked them for the information and followed them towards the village. All then asked in return was to inform others of their kind that Claws that hold is at the mount of the river in the jungle. Apparently the birds had been quite many before 'the happening' and were rather social by nature.
As we turned to leave the road a glint of metal caught my eye. As I stooped down to pick it up it appeared to be a silver ear loop. This was something special, I could feel the truth behind it's simple demeanor. I will look more into this bauble when we make it back to Throal.
As we approached the edge of the jungle, we began to encounter large sprawling fields and noticed the shape of Namegivers in the distance. They seemed to be carrying barrels and hampers. As we drew closer, our approach was noticed, and we were greeted by a small ragtag group of defenders wielding farm tools. We performed the ritual of greeting and as they enjoyed the fanciful drink I had prepared, advised that we should join them as today was a day of celebration and festivity. They advised us that the village was named Thelgil and today marked the naming day of the first child born since exiting the kaer. Based upon their description of farming seasons we surmised that they had been outside the kaer for somewhere within the neighbourhood of a year. We could make out more clearly now that the people in the distance were carrying baskets of food and casks of wine. Everyone moved towards the town centre, where the houses and people grew more dense. The people were dropping goods off in the centre of town where the party was inevitably going to occur and then moved into the jungle. Our guides advised us that the naming ritual would take place in the jungle and lead us through a verdant tunnel of greenery twisting deeper into the jungle. We emerged into a clearing with a large squat stone building with a small amount of moss on it and no door. We were led into the chamber that contained a skylight in the roof allowing sunlight to flow down onto a central dais where and elven man, stood with a human woman and young elven boy, the family assumedly. The remainder of the room radiated out from the dais in a spiral pattern with round stepstones spaced evenly. The design was evidently made for a single person to stand on the stepstone, however because of the momentous occasion, the whole village crowded the room with multiple people sharing the stones. We could see more clearly now that village was predominantly elven, with an even split of dwarves and humans after that.
The boy was named Talwild, starting closest to the dais each person intoned his name reinforcing the magic associated to it. We then made our way back to town to engage in festivities and revelry. Sandrin and Nex participated in a rock tossing competition, even though the rock was larger than Nez. Temur took the immediate opportunity to engage in as many forms of wrestling he could find, being all the more eager when grease or oil was involved. Xeviouz mingle and sampled the meads and wines. I attempted to enhance the atmosphere by adding glamours of lights and mild explosives where I felt they would have the most effect. This continued into the night, and while some of the villagers partied until they fell over, all of our party managed to find a bed. Just before dawn we were awoken by screaming, "He's gone!" echoed across the village. We all rushed to find the source of the trouble, some of us in more of a hurry than others. Aymla, the mother of Talwild was wailing, his father just behind her ashen faced. Temur queried as to the problem, and she again wailed that he was gone, her son was taken. Someone had crept in through the window and unbarred the door and made off with her son. Temur investigated and harnessed the magic of a War Rider to locate the tracks of the abductors. Everyone gathered their gear and we prepared to make off, however we were joined by the boys elderly grandfather and his large hounds. The tracks lead to the edge of the jungle, where Nez determined that a group of accomplices joined the abductor.
We continued to track the kidnappers through the day and as we came to a river in the jungle, it was apparent by both Temur's magic and the nose of the hounds that the culprits had crossed via a fallen tree. We hurried across and no sooner had our feet touched the ground on the other side then we were leapt upon by jungle predators, or maybe the pups of predators? The small furred beasts attacked with a ferocity greater than their size, knocking some of us down and latching into the legs of others. Nez was taken by the beasts, sure that it was his lost spirit guide Saggamotha. Though we eventually regrouped enough to scare one off and down another. A third one was knocked unconscious and we bound and held the beast so that Nez may attempt to sway it's attitude and confirm if this was Saggamotha. The beast proved as willful as it was rambunctious and bounded off with the food offered to it. We tended to our wounds and collected ourselves to press on. The trail was rediscovered and we pushed forward again.
We tracked the criminals all day, and as the sun began to dip low in the sky we came into a clearing. Here sat an ominous stone temple covered in vines and moss. There was no door, so we pushed forward. As we entered the path descended into a labyrinthine tunnel system. Luckily for us, the boys captors had no better knowledge of this place than we did. Time after time, as we took a wrong turn and ended up a dead end, we found that one or more of the captors had truly found this to be a dead end, with traps sprung and the unfortunate souls being the recipient. Finally we came into a large ornate chamber with carvings in the floors and walls, and a large serpent mouth against the far wall, it's gullet leading futher into the temple. At the far side of this room stood a man with a disturbing design painted upon his face holding Talwild in one hand and some sort of weapon in the other. A strange looking singed wolf stood beside him and they were flanked on either side by storm crows. He gestured and ranted at us in a language that none of us undersood, but the actions were clearly hostile and the animals all became aggressive as he fled through the stone serpent mouth. As he fled a number of corpses in the room began to animate, we were about to be overwhelmed. We stayed calm and assessed the situation and waited for the enemy to approach and make a mistake. The wolf stirred up a storm, and the crows attempted to swoop in and call lightning. The first made a desperate swoop towards us that was intercepted by Xeviouz's shield, and followed up with a stab to pin the thing to the ground. Though the bolt of lightning still found it's mark and I felt the current flow through my tail to the ground once again. The second was more restrained and while the lightning landed, it did not press forward as deep. The shambling corpses moved forward, and just as they threated to surround and overwhelm him, Temur galloped off to prepare himself for a charge. The wolf was injured by Sandrin's sword flying through the air and garnered the beast full attention. Finally as the last of the corpses fell upon us, it was time to spring the trap. We had discussed strategy previously and I had advised my compatriots that the trick to an illusion is that it only hurts when you believe it will, they knew the key phrase to suspend belief and accept that the flames cannot harm them. As I bellowed the words the fireball erupted at my feet, engulfing all but two of the corpses and the wolf. The illusion provided the sizzle of flesh as they dropped. A single storm crow remained within the blast zone as he fell to the ground disoriented. We turned the remainder of our attention to the wolf and remaining two animated corpses, as well as a evil creature in the shadows that Nez had pointed out. We finished the remaining corpses and beasts and the evil creature retreated as Temur and Xeviouz descended upon him.
We did not hesitate to follow the man down the tunnel, we caught up with him in another chamber where he turned to us and began chanting and gesturing again. I know not what he was doing; if it was supposed to have been a spell, he performed it incorrectly. A heartbeat later the fiend was cut down, not taking any chances in what he may be able to conjure if we let him live. The boy was reunited with his grandfather and we made a quickened pace on the most direct route back to the village. The family and all the village rejoiced at the boys return and we celebrated again. They provided us with food for the journey back to Throal, and Temur gained the companionship of two new puppies that the old man's hounds had recently birthed. Another adventure, another cult it seems. We may need to return and investigate more into if any of them remain. The handsome pay is likely dead on the road somewhere and we may need to retrieve the remnants if our honour is questioned, but I think the discovery and introduction of a new trading partner will provide enough distraction to worry about blame for a fools actions.
Re: AAR [5M]: Tale of the Dusty Trail 2020-05-31@17:00 GMT
We start at 33.08 on a wide dirt road. We were originally hired as merchant guards, but they abandoned us at the first sign of combat. After we killed the hatchet-faced birds (Crackbills), they were nowhere to be seen. They claimed rumors of an open settlement around 23.12, they wanted to be the first there. We’re covered with orange dust, and some of us are coming out from the effects of poison.
As we start to move, there’s a flock of birds that land in a line before us. They speak to us in our mind, Claws That Hold, Beak With Sharpness, Smooth Feathers, Eyes that Glitter, Wide Tail. We introduce ourselves in return. They tell us of a place where we might fight respite. They are good people, and many fields. If we see more of them, send them to Claws that Hold at the North tip of the Servos river (37.08).
We follow their directions to 35.09. Long rolling hills leading towards the Servos Jungle. Several fields, light fencing, animals in pastures, and a village on the edge of the jungle. Everyone is outside, moving about. Wearing clean clothes, no Windlings, Obsidimen, Trolls. Several large men with farm tools as weapons start to approach. We exchange Greeting Rituals. This is the Village of Thelgil. They invite us to their festivities, celebration of Nameday of first child conceived outside the kaer. We accept.
Moving into the village proper, there’s a bustle of activity as the feast is prepared. A large stream of people heads into the jungle, to the ceremony. The jungle path leads to a clearing with a large stone building, slightly overgrown with vines and moss. There is an opening allowing in light, and the family is in the center (Elf, Human, elf child). There’s a spiral upon the floor. We take a spot just inside the door. Elf appears to be the dominant race, but humans and dwarves as well.
The father Names the child, Thalwild. Everyone in the spiral repeats the name in a wave. Once it passes through the whole place, there is much cheering and hugging. We lead the spiral back out into the village. The celebration starts up in earnest, lots of food and carnival games. Assorted types of wrestling, boulder tossing, etc.
We bed down for the night after the party dies down.
At some point in the night, we’re woken by a scream, “He’s gone!!!”
The mother, Aymla and the father is there. The windows were open. Temur starts looking for tracks outside the window that lead out of the village. The tracks aren’t much larger than Temur. We get our things and start following the trail.
We spot an old man exiting his hut, pulling on old leather armor and a spear. We try to talk him out of it, but he is quickly followed by two large dogs. We promise to bring them both back. The dogs take up the trail as well, and we start to run.
The tracks paused at one point and then continued onward. They met with other people here, and then left as a group. All are around the same size, about 20 of them. The old man tells us of a legend that there was once conflict with others. Raiding, cattle theft, that kind of thing. We head into 37.10 of the Servos to a small, filthy river with a log bridge. After crossing the bridge, 3 dark sleek shapes come leaping down at us. (Crojen)
The ambush takes most of us by surprise. They knock several of us down.
A crocodile comes out of nowhere to attack Temur as he’s preparing for a charge. After Temur rides away, it loses interest. Temur nearly kills the Crojen on Nez with the charge. Temur is then dismounted by another Crojen. Nez tries to calm down one of the Crojen. We all converge on the last Crojen, and kill it.
While Temur and I recover, Nez treats the unconscious Crojen to Bond with it. When released,
We continue to follow the path. We find a strange temple and head inside. A storm is forming quickly upon the building. The trail dead-ends inside the temple. The grandfather’s dogs point down into another hallway.
We follow the dogs down further. We see an altar with 2 crows and a large wolf and a human speaking in a dialect of Sperethiel. He shouts loudly and retreats into the mouth of the altar.
Nez tries to Dominate one of them, but its conditioning prevents his commands from working. Several animated corpses stand and move to attack.
One Storm Crow approaches and gets knocked out of the sky by Xeviouz. It still unleashes a lightning bolt at Moe. I throw Gale Cutter at the Storm Wolf, knocking it down. The bodies start to approach. Second Storm Crow does the same, hitting Xeviouz with lightning. When all the bodies have surrounded us, Moe unleashes a Phantom Fireball on all of us, killing all but 2 corpses. Nez notices something off in the shadows, a Kreescra Horror who is Cursing our Luck.
Xeviouz kills the last crow and then charges the Storm Wolf. Storm Wolf charges me, knocking me down briefly. Once back up, I run around the fight, and distract the Storm wolf, leaving it wide open for Nez to eviscerate it. When we finally confront the Kreescra directly, it runs off into the darkness.
We rush after the leader, and he attempts to cast something at us, but nothing happens. We rush him and retrieve the child.
Grandfather doesn’t recognize the man nor the altar.
We bring the child back to the village and receive another celebration.
As we start to move, there’s a flock of birds that land in a line before us. They speak to us in our mind, Claws That Hold, Beak With Sharpness, Smooth Feathers, Eyes that Glitter, Wide Tail. We introduce ourselves in return. They tell us of a place where we might fight respite. They are good people, and many fields. If we see more of them, send them to Claws that Hold at the North tip of the Servos river (37.08).
We follow their directions to 35.09. Long rolling hills leading towards the Servos Jungle. Several fields, light fencing, animals in pastures, and a village on the edge of the jungle. Everyone is outside, moving about. Wearing clean clothes, no Windlings, Obsidimen, Trolls. Several large men with farm tools as weapons start to approach. We exchange Greeting Rituals. This is the Village of Thelgil. They invite us to their festivities, celebration of Nameday of first child conceived outside the kaer. We accept.
Moving into the village proper, there’s a bustle of activity as the feast is prepared. A large stream of people heads into the jungle, to the ceremony. The jungle path leads to a clearing with a large stone building, slightly overgrown with vines and moss. There is an opening allowing in light, and the family is in the center (Elf, Human, elf child). There’s a spiral upon the floor. We take a spot just inside the door. Elf appears to be the dominant race, but humans and dwarves as well.
The father Names the child, Thalwild. Everyone in the spiral repeats the name in a wave. Once it passes through the whole place, there is much cheering and hugging. We lead the spiral back out into the village. The celebration starts up in earnest, lots of food and carnival games. Assorted types of wrestling, boulder tossing, etc.
We bed down for the night after the party dies down.
At some point in the night, we’re woken by a scream, “He’s gone!!!”
The mother, Aymla and the father is there. The windows were open. Temur starts looking for tracks outside the window that lead out of the village. The tracks aren’t much larger than Temur. We get our things and start following the trail.
We spot an old man exiting his hut, pulling on old leather armor and a spear. We try to talk him out of it, but he is quickly followed by two large dogs. We promise to bring them both back. The dogs take up the trail as well, and we start to run.
The tracks paused at one point and then continued onward. They met with other people here, and then left as a group. All are around the same size, about 20 of them. The old man tells us of a legend that there was once conflict with others. Raiding, cattle theft, that kind of thing. We head into 37.10 of the Servos to a small, filthy river with a log bridge. After crossing the bridge, 3 dark sleek shapes come leaping down at us. (Crojen)
The ambush takes most of us by surprise. They knock several of us down.
A crocodile comes out of nowhere to attack Temur as he’s preparing for a charge. After Temur rides away, it loses interest. Temur nearly kills the Crojen on Nez with the charge. Temur is then dismounted by another Crojen. Nez tries to calm down one of the Crojen. We all converge on the last Crojen, and kill it.
While Temur and I recover, Nez treats the unconscious Crojen to Bond with it. When released,
We continue to follow the path. We find a strange temple and head inside. A storm is forming quickly upon the building. The trail dead-ends inside the temple. The grandfather’s dogs point down into another hallway.
We follow the dogs down further. We see an altar with 2 crows and a large wolf and a human speaking in a dialect of Sperethiel. He shouts loudly and retreats into the mouth of the altar.
Nez tries to Dominate one of them, but its conditioning prevents his commands from working. Several animated corpses stand and move to attack.
One Storm Crow approaches and gets knocked out of the sky by Xeviouz. It still unleashes a lightning bolt at Moe. I throw Gale Cutter at the Storm Wolf, knocking it down. The bodies start to approach. Second Storm Crow does the same, hitting Xeviouz with lightning. When all the bodies have surrounded us, Moe unleashes a Phantom Fireball on all of us, killing all but 2 corpses. Nez notices something off in the shadows, a Kreescra Horror who is Cursing our Luck.
Xeviouz kills the last crow and then charges the Storm Wolf. Storm Wolf charges me, knocking me down briefly. Once back up, I run around the fight, and distract the Storm wolf, leaving it wide open for Nez to eviscerate it. When we finally confront the Kreescra directly, it runs off into the darkness.
We rush after the leader, and he attempts to cast something at us, but nothing happens. We rush him and retrieve the child.
Grandfather doesn’t recognize the man nor the altar.
We bring the child back to the village and receive another celebration.