Session 5: The Way Out Report

General Summary

The party had but a moment to catch their breath following their battle with the ratlings in the shrine of Thar Ashaela. The temple was overrun with Shoku's minions, the mad ratling artificer intent on recovering the Obscuris Cosmology, as well as Skreech's golems for good measure. The group quickly determined their best method of escape to be the rowboats they'd seen moored on the underground river that cut through the temple. They made their way back to that location, dispatching with several ratling search parties along the way, and the group climbed into the two boats and began rowing their way southward.   Shoku and her minions were scanning the caverns for the escaping adventurers, though the group was, for the most part, able to avoid detection. However, some rough water knocked their boats into debris floating in the water and the sound caught the attention of the ratlings, who began firing arrows and strange beam weapons at their boats. Dacha once again provided cover with a well-timed fog cloud spell that allowed the party to escape further into the cave, whereupon they found themselves pursued by several ratlings in their own boats. The party dispatched their pursuers and finally made their way deeper into the underground river and to safety.   The group emerged from the cave on a stream in the middle of the Huntswood. The sun had just begun to set and the group decided to strand the ratlings' rowboats along the edge of the stream as a decoy while they made camp further east. During that night, Droknar attempted to summon the dragonborn echo he had previously seen, but instead summoned the elf, one of his compatriots from the ill-fated adventuring party. He had memory of events leading up to the destruction of his body and warned Droknar that the Journeyman's Company had been infiltrated by a cult led by Deleth. He advised Droknar to seek out Akari, the Doge of Quilport, who should be able to help them decipher the contents of the tome. He also mentioned he was aware of the other echoes Droknar was summoning, except for that of the Dragonborn, and that they were all in the same place; the Weave.   The following day, the party continued along the stream which emptied into the Redtail River, which the group decided to follow south out of the Huntswood. Dacha noticed someone following the group in the trees and sent his Owl familiar to track their pursuer. On the way down the river, the party came upon a group of hooded wood elves participating in a funerary rite along the edge of the river, and further down the river they crossed paths with a boat manned by elven clerics of Thar Ashaela. In both instances, the party decided against contact with the strangers.   As the sun set on the second day of travel, the party made their way into the woods along the eastern edge of the river. As the group settled in for the night, Skreech worked on improving his equipment while Rinrin spent her time woodcarving. As Brakmat patrolled the edge of their campsite, he found himself nearly struck by a javelin thrown from the shadows. A group of Emerald Hunters, larger than the previous one they'd encountered, surrounded them, and the party engaged them in battle. As the group got the upper hand and the Saurians began to flee, a mysterious figure appeared and helped strike down the escaping lizardfolk.   The figure seemed particularly wary of Brakmat and knowledgeable about Dacha. He mentioned the Saurians were no friends to his or Dacha's people, and that both of their people had banded together for safety in the past. He introduced himself as Aki and questioned the adventurers as to their purpose traveling through the Huntswood. Dacha and Rinrin noticed something strange about the shadows cast by their visitor and after some prodding he revealed himself to be a three-tailed kitsune. He seemed particularly interested that the group had encountered attempted kidnappings, mentioning that several children from his village had recently gone missing as well. He asked the group to seek out the kitsune village should they find more information about the children's disappearance, and then took his leave to report the Saurian incursion to his people, leaving the party to finally get their rest and prepare for the next day of travel.

Character(s) interacted with

Akimitsu "Aki" Arinami