Session 13: Attack on Belsnik
General Summary
Previous Session: Session 12: Stormy Weather The Lads regroup at their cart with the unconscious beastman. Seeing the corpses, Willow casts Detect Magic and detects a faint aura of transmutation magic in the dead bodies and a stronger aura in the other. The beastman wakes, struggling to break its bindings and stopping once it realizes its situation. The Lads begin questioning it, first asking where Kish'lagg is. The beastman reveals that Kish'lagg dwells somewhere in the eastern forests, on the outskirts of the Forest of Dreams. The beastman also told them that one does not find Kish'lagg; one must summon it if one wishes to gain its favour. The Lads then ask how to summon Kish'lagg, which the beastman reveals can only be done with the brutalized corpse of a powerful being or foe and the reciting of an incantation. The party discusses their plans for finding Kish'lagg. They kill the beastman before he tells them of the chant, and they continue toward Belsnik. They reach Belsnik near the dinner hour and stop at the stables to pay Horace. Willow gives Horace 6 SP for three more days of stabling for all three of their horses. Afterwards, the Lads walk to Little Laddy's notice the streets and the village center are strangely silent. The tavern is devoid of patrons as Laddy stands alone behind the bar. He is happy to see the Lads return and hugs each of them. They ask why the village is so quiet, and Laddy informs them that the village was attacked by a large pack of beastmen during the thunderstorm the day before, taking villagers both alive and dead. Willow then tells Laddy of the unfortunate fate of the other Lads as he gives Laddy the small pouch with the queen bee. Laddy cannot believe the news, clutching the bag and weeping for them, especially Krosk, whom he saw as his son. Laddy recollects himself, and Willow introduces him to Muda. Laddy instantly recognizes Muda as the famed Acrusian brawler King K'aang and is filled with excitement, as he had been a massive fan of his during his time in Acrusia. Laddy then tells Muda how the Lads operate and makes Muda an official member of the Lads. The paladins, Erlenwald and Jaraleto, enter and inform Laddy of their quest - defeating the demonic source of the beastmen, Kish'lagg. Laddy offers them the Lads' room to rest while they complete their quest. That night, the party mourns their fallen comrades and enjoys a comforting meal in the comfort of their tavern before sleeping in their beds. The next day, the paladins go to the village guardhouse to ask about the attack. The guard they speak to says that 26 villagers are unaccounted for and points them to the east, saying that was the direction the beastmen left. The party travels east, through the forest. Eventually, they come across several brutalized corpses. They presume they're the corpses of the villagers taken, but the bodies are almost beyond recognition. The party follows the trail of bodies further into the forest. Four beastmen ambush the party but fall quickly. They eventually reach a clearing where a slaughtered corpse sits against a large rock with a bloody-clawed beastman perched on top. The beastman mocks the party for killing those that wish only to engage in a ritualistic slaughter. The paladins walk towards the beastman, preparing to retaliate as it leaps at them, murmuring something unintelligible under its breath. The fight ends quickly, with Jaraleto plunging his sword through its head. In doing so, the beastman smirks as its eyes glaze over. A moment of silence before everyone hears an ear-piercing screech in the distance. A great quaking sound approaches the clearing as the party feels the ground tremble beneath their feet. The Lads watch as a massive, hairy, monstrous figure leaps over the treeline and into the center of the party. It lets out another horrifying scream that stuns some of the Lads, and the battle to defeat Kish'lagg, the Avatar of Savagery, begins. Next Session: Session 14: Kish'lagg
