Session 12: The Valley of the Gnolls

General Summary

Having left the ruins of Castle Cordelia far behind, the Temple Thieves enter the Whispering Grasslands east of the Forest of the Two Moons and west of the hazy, looming Chysanthemum range of the world-spanning Silvermonts, their destination, where waits the Eagle's Swain Aerie and the so-called Ghost Temple.   But, days into their trek across the grasslands (and still with a full complement of messenger ravens, since they haven't updated Lord Calyops yet of their progress), a horrifying barrier is spotted a mile or so distant: a gnoll war party with two four-tusked war elephants!   Kelpip seems particularly freaked out about this and before anyone else can do anything, he shouts something about his backstory, flings himself off of the wagon, and begins pelting full tilt through the high grass in the opposite direction.   One of the elephants and ten of the gnolls (the latter divided between ground and palanquin) break off from the main war party and move toward the Thieves amid the swaying grasses, apparently having spotted the small group, who, from a distance, must look much like any small group of settlers setting out for cheap, but dangerous, farmland to the east of the remaining cities of the Twilight Empire.   One of the approaching gnolls ducks down below level of the grasses and begins 'velociraptoring' at great speed toward the party. Eyes wide at the sight of the war elephants, Ruhst turns the wagon and goads the horses to speed in the direction Kelpip fled, while Dolan immediately leaps off of his new clockwork horse, Thunderwind, and takes cover with Fenris, readying an ambush should the gnoll come into the open space matted down behind the wagon and horses.   Percy stays astride her own, less metallic, horse to act as rearguard, and Little Sister phase shifts her wing-swords back into broad, white wings and takes to the air, providing a visual on the gnoll that is weaving toward the party through the grasses like a land shark. Fallenbridge, Trajinous, and Ruhst stay on the wagon, Fallenbridge taking a tumble as the wagon turns, knocking his head on the raven cages. Dazed, the bard is reduced to barely comprehensible squawks.   Just then the velociraptoring gnoll bursts out of the grasses behind the wagon. It is over seven feet tall, hyena-like, but bipedal, festooned with bones and charms and skin-jewelry, muzzle dripping with froth from the run.   Dolan leaps astride the clockwork horse and fires his repeating crossbow at the scout. Percy is not far behind in essaying an attack while Trajinous and Fallenbridge add support from the rapidly-receding wagon. Blood sprays.   Meanwhile, Kelpip, running in circles in the tall grass, unable to see where he is going, lobs fire to the north and east, hoping to start a prairie fire to dissuade the rest of the gnolls from following. After a snarling battle with the gnoll scout that ends with the gnoll cut down and drizzling blood into the ground, Dolan adds his own flaming arrows to the project. But the fires aren't as impressive as the team was hoping for, perhaps due to recent rains across the grasslands (or perhaps due to the GM being peevish because he'd had this whole gnoll encounter thing planned out, with new minis, elaborate backstories, and cultural entanglements, but noooooo ... the team actually chooses to run away for once rather than fighting what appears to be an overwhelming opposition, even though the gnoll war party was, more or less, level appropriate -- not saying that the elephants were, but, y'know, the gnolls. Anyway ....)   In his panic, Kelpip starts running again, but the ground gives out beneath him and he plunges into a sinkhole. His cries for help draw the others to his location, rope is thrown down, and finally the team is reunited.   But while he was in the pit, Kelpip saw he had not fallen into an ordinary sinkhole, but rather the remains of an ancient temple or barrow. Corridors extended off from the chamber into which he had fallen.   Kelpip looks back and forth between the encroaching gnolls, possibly being dissuaded by the advancing grass fire, and the possible knowledge contained within the buried structure, discovery and panic warring within his breast. Biting his lip, he climbs back down the rope.   The others quickly follow.   Passing through one of the trapped corridors, the Thieves do what they do best and break into the tomb at the center of the barrow. There, seated upon a throne with a rusted sword at its side, is Crom ... er ... wait, no, not Crom ... but rather a dessicated skeletal figure dressed in warlike garb, with a crown upon its head. But there are guardians yet: two goat men who raise their furred heads from the fire where they had been roasting something small, muscular, and flensed.   They stride forward to the attack, muttering words that sound something akin to, "The maaaaster will not like it that you are here." "The maaaaster will not liiiike it!"   Despite being tired from adrenaline and flight, the Thieves rally and, with effort, cut down the goat men.   Just in time for the skeletal figure upon the throne to rise, lift its sword, and say, "You who have intruded here, it is time for you to join me in death!"