Session 34: Boogieman Report
General Summary
A magical darkness envelops the party as the sound of laughter erupts around them. Given the fog and confusion, it sounds like the talking and laughter is all around them, as the party shakilly stands together. Ragia herself huddles up against everyone, and casts a spell, giving her a magical cloak of armor.
Sebastian takes up a defensive posion, brandishing his shield to protect Ayame. Nahemah begins to chant, holding her stave horizontally in one hand, while the other holds the holy symbol atop it. "The darkest nights always come before the dawn, and dawn brings the goddess' radiance, which shall reveal all evil-doers!" She chants out, as the darkness is negated, the fog pooled heavily at everyones feet.
Eleanor manages to see a scarecrow like figure nearly twenty feet away, and charges forward, striking at the scarecrow, cleaving it in twain, discovering it to be an actual scarecrow. Still a little startled, she spots out of the corner of her eye an old crone, with moss covering her body like a blanket, and a thick robe. The old woman waves her hand and suddenly, Eleanor is frozen in place, unable to move or speak, as she simply grips onto her greataxe.
Ayame quickly moves up to Eleanor with sebastian, the two of them protecting their friend, as Ayame breaths in, letting out a scream worthy of a banshee. Tree branches fall, splitting a dark cloud of fog in half before it reforms itself slightly.
Nahemah starts chanting again, a cloud of holy energy floating to Eleanor. "Rhamnasias strength allows all chains to be broken!" Which allows Eleanor to finally relax, no longer paralized.
As Eleanor breaks out of her paralysis, the cloud rushes towards Ragia, turning back into her gross humanoid form, attacking with both of her claws, but whiffing above the kobolds head. Nahemah has a large, pulsing hulk of a creture tower over her, with pus bulging from open soars as it strikes down atop her. Allthough she knows the creature to be fake, the weight of fear bears down on her while she shakilly blocks the strike, her hands trembling.
Ragia instead uses a scorcing ray against the monstrous woman before her, while Yara blows a breath upon Ragia, who no longer feels scared. Sebastian meanwhile, moves over and strikes down at the hag, Ayame waving an arm as the wind picks up, distracting her. Eleanor then shakes out of her stunned state, and strikes down at the hag with her eyes and Cassandra glowing in the near rage. Her blow striking the woman deftly, and knocking her to the ground.
Naomi's staff glows as she starts to channel energy from it. The hag cackling points up to the party, her clothing still billowing in the wind. "I know when I cannot win, but don't you worry... You will see me again in your nightmares." She says turning back into a fog, and quickly flying away fwith the wind and disaapearing into the night.
Eleanor and ayame both attempt to strike the creature, pull her back, but before they know it, even the fog starts to subside from their feet. Ayame blinks and sheepishly rubs the back of her head. "W-well... sorry about that I guess..." Her fox ears folding flat against her head, using her hands to pet one of her tails sheepishly.
Yara juts out of Ragia's clothing and pats Ayame's tail. "Its ok! Without you Ragia wouuld have died! You came at a good time!"
Ayame smiles back at Yara. "Thank you."
Eleanor grumbles as her greataxe disassembles into her form, watching in the direction the hag. "I'm startin to sense a pattern of never meetin normal folks."
"We're cursed to just meet the worst people, aren't we?" Nahemah says.
"Well... I don't think so, I met you after all!" Ayame says, still smiling.
"Awe!" Nahemah says, her fear quickly subsiding and a smile appearing on her face. "I'd cuddle you if we hadn't just almost died to a hag."
Ayame giggles while Ragia cuddles up with Yara. "Fair enough~" Ayame says.
"I'm pretty sure at least myself ain't one of the normal folks but I'm glad to have met you all!" Eleanor says, dusting off herself. "Well, What now?"
"Lets get out of here." Says Nahemah. "That thing is sure to be hanging out around here for a while."
The party makes their way back to camp, Yara cuddling up with Ragia, who couldn't look happier, as they come upon a group of armored men lokoing through their belongings, one of which about to go into Ayame's carriage.
Nahemah Dai'Gishkin immediately recognized the crest on the heraldry of the armor as one for the army of Baal, the country the party is heading north towards, and should only have armed forces on the other side of the forest.
"Well-well-well, who do 'e ave ere?" Says a man wielding a sledgehammer over his shoulder. "Its bad manners to leave a fire lit wit nobody 'ere to watch it." He says with a smirk. "Me and my b-men here thought might be a bit o' trouble ere."
"Woah woah!" Nahemah shouts out. "Hold! Heir to the house Dai'Gishkin Nahemah Dai'Gishkin at your service. Might I ask what honorable gentlemen like yourselves are doing going through our stuff?"
The soldier points to his armor. "Patrolin' the border miss. Make sure there be no smugglin, er dirty business on our watch, else we'd have ta confiscate goods n the like. Standard bidness, you gehit? Besides, how are we ta know you lot own all this? Seems mighty funky doen't it? Right lobe?" He says to another soldier entering Ayame's carriagge. "Sounds roit to me b...sir."
"I do understand the issue at hand." Nahemah says. "Surely there must be some... way... of expediting the process, making things go smoother for everyone here." She says rubbing her thumb and middle finger together.
The leader scratches his head with his hammer. "I dunno, we already started and I gotta make sure my men gget some food... a nice carriage... nice bedrolls and some food... I would say maybe five hundred and we could be on our way and... forget we ever saw ye." He says with a shrug. "I mean... we could negotiate fo sure."
Ayame sizes up the fifteen people partly ransacking their camp. Given their armor and their rugged exterior, she figures that they are a bit too tough for the party to handle. "Hmmm..." She says, while riding atop sebastian. She looks to Naomi waith a raised brow, as Nahemah starts to squint at the suspicious display.
"Hey bo-SIR! I found somethin in the carriage... looks like a jackpot in 'ere."
"Whatever it is, let it down for now... we talkin 'ere." Says the leader.
"Yknow we might not have official proof of status or ownership but we're not familiar with this area and nor do yall." Eleanor says, leering at the group of soldiers. "Look at it from our perspective, a bunch of unknown armed folks are scoutin out camp, askin for a years worth of salary to keep our own stuff." She says crossing her arms. "If you ask me on a first glance, yall could just be wolves in sheeps clothin. I'm more than willin to make this cost you a helluva lot more than five hundred if you're diggin for trouble." She says as Cassandra appears in her hand, the ornate axe with dried blood very distinct along the blade.
The leader looks at the axe for a moment before turning to the rest of the group. "Not worth the trouble at all. Put it all back men. We will find something else tonight." "But sir!" Cries out the man in the carriage. "LEAVE IT!" shouts the leader. "We are outta 'ere ten minutes ago."
"Hold on a second!" Ayame says to the leader, who looks back to her. "Your armor. Remove it." She says taking a puff from her pipe, a gust of smoke wrapping around sebastian as he pulls off his helmet, revealing his bare skull.
Eleanor looks up to Ayame atop sebastian, muttering just loud enough that the guards can't hear. "What the fuck??"
The captain gulps and sighs, taking off his armor, revealing his raggedyy clothing underneeth. But he keeps his sledge while the rest of his men run away into the forest, before he runs after them. Ayame waves her hand as the armor suddenly lifts up, and gets placed into the carriage. "I wanted his armor." She says looking to Eleanor. "Its the least he could do for the trouble."
"I'm traveling with psychopaths. Except you Yara." Nahemah says, giving a wink and a smile at the fairy dragon.
Yara rubs their own face bashfully and cuddles up against Ragia. "Hey I didn't do anything this time!" The kobold says with a pout.
Ayame pouts as well. "I just got us some expensive armor for nothing..."
"They were probably deserters." Ragia says. "This armor will bring nothing but troubles where we're going."
Eleanor crosses her arms, grumbling at Nahemah. "You're not wrong, but still... rude." She says half sarcastically.
Nahemah giggles and gently slaps Eleanor's arm. "Just kiddin hun. Y'all are great."
DATE: Vamendour 12/625
The party awakens the next morning finally having an unevental rest. They gather their things and start heading down the road. Upon reaching the road however, dangling ten feet above it is the guard the party had forced to strip the night before. His legs removed and feet stitched to his hands as they are stretched to their limit, nailed to two trees pulled to fork above the road to allow a gruesom sight. The eyes removed, revealing only blackened sockets, and his sledge shoved down his throat, with only the head of the hammer resting below his nose. For his torso, he has been disemboweled, and cheeks cut to give an eery, disturbing smile to all those who pass by. The thoughts of the hag from the night before ring as true and clear as her song, and the cackles of her laughter ring out as the party finishes loading up the cariage, on their way to journey into the kingdom of Baal. Disturbed by the sight, Ragia sets the body aflame, as the smell of burn't hair follows them throughout the rest of the forest.
Rewards Granted
A masterwork custom fit half plate army of the army of Baal.
