The Minstrel and His Ward

General Summary

After surviving the Saurian ambush, the adventurers discovered that the lizard folk had forced the minstrel Larius to act as bait. The Saurians had snatched his young ward, a skinny timid girl and were holding her hostage, threatening to eat her unless the halfling helped them catch the bigger 'fish' they had been tracking along the river.
Unsure what numbers they faced, the party agreed to a plan of bartering with the Saurian. Knowing that the lizards often traded for meat and tools they could not fashion themselves, Asrack and Morvil approached the cave mouth while Anduin and Old White Eyes kept watch at a distance. 
After gaining something of an understanding with the Saurian leader, Asrack traded several slabs of boar meat from the party's kill the night before for the life of the child. With the girl freed, Larius gladly kept his part of the bargain and agreed to lead the party to The Hollows.
After a day spent tending wounds, hunting (to great success as Old White Eyes tracked and killed another boar) and foraging (again to great success as Asrack gathered a feast of raw vegetables), the party resumed the trek.
Climbing the ancient stone bridge crowning the river, the party got its first look at The Hollows. A low palisade wall surrounded the roughly circular town. Smoke rose from several chimneys and a smith hammered at an unseen forge. The town sat nestled on the border of a dense forest that stretched out as far as the eye could see. 
The pine trees of the forest rose high into the cloudless sky. Almost at the end of their vision, the party spotted a stone spire impossibly rising above the tall trees from somewhere deep in the forest.
Taking a moment to gather themselves, the party started down the dirt road toward the town gates, intent to take Larius up on his offer of free drinks at the Dead Man's Hand.

Report Date

11 Jul 2021