Session 13: 11/01/2025 - The call of the Mere of Dead Men
General Summary
Asterlynn, the morning of the 28th in the year 333 AI, until the morning of the 31th
Wave Echo Cave and road to Phandalin
We find our friends waking up in the morning, in the mouth of Wave Echo Cave. Setting out they are joined by the two dwarven brothers. For now they are returning to Phandalin along with our adventurers, to gather more supplies, send messages to their clan. In short, to take all necessary preparations for reopening the mines, but also to celebrate their lost brother and provide him with a tomb.
Exiting the tomb, Aphrodite's senses are immediatly triggered! A little Yellow-Throated Marten is scurrying about, seemingly foraging for food. However, as soon as it notices the approach of our friends, it stands up and focuses its stare on our friends, on,e by one. To eventually rest on Liberty. Its silver tail triggers a certain memory...
Instead of running away immediatly it remains focused on our friends. Aphrodite informs Liberty that indeed, the smell is the same as the smell of the silver feathered raven they met before. Again, it seems to be a friend, a bird and now a Marten, but also not a Marten? Aphrodite is unsure, but his senses of danger remain calm. Whatever it is, it seemingly isn't a danger to our friends.
Meanwhile the animal has seen enough it seems. It leaves Liberty a last stare, which seems to be one of approval and expectance. We will meet again it seems to say as it turns around and disappears in the forest. Detecting traces of Conjuration magic and her tracking skills Liberty manages to trace the path of the Marten into the forest. Until all of a sudden, the tracks just stop. As is the Marten conjured itself up into smoke...
Shaking off the surprise and their unease, the party heads to Phandalin.
Phandalin
The outskirts of Phandalin greet our friends. Greet them with an eerie silence and abandon. Not a single person seems to be at home. Deciding to head respectively to Stonehill Inn to abduct Pip and to the Town House to inform Sildar, our party enters the village proper. As they approach, sounds greet them. Noises, a crowd seems gathered. As they listen closely it becomes apparent that the sounds are those... of a proper party! A festival! A celebration! Before long some of Numots acquaintances grabbed him and offered him tankards of heavy dwarven ale. Clearly they won't see him until the end of the party.
In the crowd their arrival is greeted with gleeful abandon, somehow the news of their victory travelled faster than they themselves! Soon Sildar approaches them, and Resnalore finds Pip discovering his first alcoholic drink, and not really agreeing with it clearly. Still, under the watchfull eye of his mother and with Resnalore's help, he manages as best he can. Soon Liberty and Resnalore are seated with Pip and are joined by Sildar. Who finally manages to explain what is going on exactly.
'We were preparing this morning to come to your aid! No help came from elsewhere, however the while village volunteered! We were mustering in all hastes when a black robed figure appeared! The wizard sent ahead with news of your victory! So instead of a war party, he suggested we had a victory party, a celebration of the liberation of the village and the cave. Somehow, we knew this man could be trusted, and his words rang true, so that is what we did!'
Liberty and Resnalore are confused, as they have no idea who this black robed man could be. The dwarves are already gone on their own party, so no one can answer them. It takes Liberty but a small second to realise something weird was going on. And soon he realises this man used powerful charming magic to convince the whole village that he was a friend and to be trusted. Soon Liberty mentions this to Sildar and manages to 'wake' him. As if waking from a dream Sildar realises that Liberty is correct. Nevertheless, Sildar remains strongly convinced that the man spoke from a sense of goodness. Whatever may be, the man is a force of good, with reasons of his own.
There are no traces of the man left though. As he disappeared as quickly as he appeared, stating he had more work to do. It seems his goal was to enable a party? Strange as it may be, there are no answers to be found and soon our party decides there is nothing left to discover about the black robed wizard. Sildar then turns to other news. He found out:
- The man who polymorphed the dumb goat and his assistant have retreated into the Mere of Dead Men
- He has never heared of this Fortress of Solitude to which the map points our friends found
- There is however a new established village in the same region that seems a bit odd and caused some troubles, if the party could obtain more information Sildar would be grateful. As for now the only news is gossip and speaks of possibly Werewolves? Sildar doubts the truth of this.
- There is political unrest growing in Neverwinter that troubles him deeply. The Lords' Alliance is monitoring the situation closely. Somehow the position of the Princess, or at least her popularity is shaken... He offers little more detail than something about, different parties feeling mistreated and how that shouldn't be...
Our friends take in the information, but leave the decision making for another day. For now, it's time for a celebration! Or, they would have hoped! An old acquaintance throws some dust in the festivities, Reidoth the Druid. Thundertree has been overtaken by a tribe of Dark Elves! They have massacred the cult of the Dragon that for some reason was still hanging around Thundertree, as if the Dragon was not the only reason they were there... Unfortunately before Reidoth could discover why, the tribe came down from the North. As the Dark Elves are more dangerous, more cruel, but also more clever in tracking skills, Reidoth felt retreating was better for his health.
Having only vague notions, Resnalore and Liberty question the disheveled, haggard druid about his knowledge concerning Dark Elves. Long ago apparently they served a greater master, and on their disappearance they were of the opinion they should now rule and work to return the Masters. Cruel and menacing they murder the new peoples arriving on this world. With great effort the other races managed to drive them all North over the mountains. The only reason the fortresses these days are able to withold them is that the tribes of the Dark Elves, hate each other as much as they hate others.
Reidoth explains that Dark Elves are not to be negotiated with. There are the clear prejudices as 'the yeat people', their eyes are fire, they are demons and such. Ther is however one certainty: they will kill you or enslave you. They are cruel and vicious. It is in their nature and no 'good' Dark Elf has ever been met. So, where ther eare prejudices and sometimes mistrust for other races like Orcs and Tieflings. Dark Elves are much different still. These days Tieflings and Orcs, can mostly move around freely in most towns. Maybe with some side eye here and there... A Dark Elf will be attacked, arrested, killed on sight, as they would do the same to us. reidoth offers the thought that these Elves were a tribe that had been beaten by another, and had managed to sneak through the mountains, looking for a safer spot to hide and lick their wounds. It's doubtful that the small group came here to cause trouble. As they traveled with elderly and youth...
With this news the party is a bit subdued for a while. However not for long! As tomorrow's sorrows are not for today! Let's celebrate until we can celebrate no more! Let the day claim it's victims! The first to fall victim is Pip! Overcome by the alcohol he falls asleep head first on the table, caught by Resnalore, who offers to lay him to sleep in his bed. She is allowed by his mother, altough Trilena does wonder how Resnalore knows which room it is... Red behind the ears Resnalore dumps poor Pip in bed. Not much later we see Liberty and Resnalore (mostly the last one) carrying home a near dead Numot... Soon our friends are all asleep in their beds in Tresendar Manor.
Morning greets our party with a nice breakfast prepared by Mirna, who was smart enough to head to bed on time and looks fresh as an angel. She also has some gossip that was heard in the taphouse. More mumbling about political unrest, as well as word of werewolves in the Mere of Dead Men. Clearly a lot is going on in the Mere of Dead Men.
The next day is spent quite peacefully, Numot nursing the hangover of the century, Resnalore teasing Numot and hanging out with Pip, delighted with the news that the circus will be in Phandalin within a month. As relayed by message. Liberty thinks of expanding his menagerie, and meets a fox. Feeding the creature seems to help disarm it, but further than that it doesn't go. The fox is hesitant still. Seeing a weird demonlike person accompanied by a wolf it's not strange to say he feels a bit worried about their intentions. Today is not the day a fox will be convinced it seems.
After Numot returns to the land of the living and everyone returns home it's decision time. Numot is brought up to speed and together they decide that the most interesting road to take further is the one leading to the Mere of Dead Men. Well fed and stocked on rations our party retrieves Peppermint (Numot is not in the best shape even the next day) and sets out on the road. (The tearful goodbye with Pip set aside to keep everything PG-13)
On the Road
Bravely the party marches on! The first day goes smoothly and without much ado. By the time evening starts to fall and the party looks for a camp site, the first event of the journey of note takes place. During the first watch Liberty notices something. In the distance a man on a horse is shouting loudly and trying to wack another person on his head. This person is quite interesting. On foot, wearing robes that ones were orange, maybe. Wearing a large backpack that seems mostly empty and holding what seems like a walking stick. His bald head and robe as well as the rest of his attire point towards him being a monk of sorts.
The man looks a bit like a vulture, with a strange neck and a prominent nose. However, the strangest is the fact that, while almost being killed, he's laughing loudly and gleefully. Dancing dexterous round and under the horse and the club flying around. No matter what the man can't seem to hit him, nor is the man impressed.Questioned by our friends the man on the horse is distracted, claiming the man a thief, who robbed him of his breakfast! The distraction seems more than enough, because when they avert their look from the farmer on the horse, the monk has disappeared! Thus, the man has no option but to return home, as the party returns to their camp... Joined by the monk who now is deep asleep next to Numot and surprisingly also... Aphrodite.
Seeing Aphrodite asleep without worry, Liberty decides to leave the man asleep. As he wakes Resnalore, she is a bit surprised about their new guest. Not happy with Liberty's short answer she has some questions. However, the man's answers open up a new question every time it seems... What they do learn is that his name is Nakor. That he came from the South... Far Far South... That he was also known as 'The Blue Rider', a title supposedly bestowed upon him by an Empress together with a great black horse. For the first time his smile vanishes a bit, when he relays the story of his sick horse dying in the desert...
All animals somehow trust this man completely it seems. Aphrodite and Peppermint both have absolutely no issues with the man. Also Liberty senses there is more to this man. Another enigma, the man's Mandarines! Reaching way too deep into his empty backpack, he keeps offering everyone mandarines, as if his supply is endless. What's more, mandarines are from a climate found only far to the South! And they are fresh! Nevertheless, however he does it, it's hard to say, even after investigating trhe backpack there is no answer. Moreover, even Aphrodite and Peppermint, both well trained animals, simply accept and eat the mandarines!
Questioned more and more, mystery builds on top of mystery... Claiming magic doesn't exist, the man still performs a lot of feats that would be called magic by anyone else. He claims 'they are only tricks' and that 'anyone could do it'. He says to be over 700 years old and that now he's going to bed. And thus the night passes peacefully.
Next morning the party is getting ready to set out. Numot meets Nakor and seems to trust him easily enough, eating his mandarines, and to Nakor's delight even taking his shape! Anything magical seems to delight the man endlessly, and he starts to question Numot right away. However, Liberty starts to get moving, and when the Mere of Dead Men is mentioned, his interest is piqued. Claiming 'if you go South long enough, you get North' (which is where he was going supposedly). So he decides to join, kind of invited of course. With a quick jump he takes place on Peppermint to set out with the party.
Unfortunately a slight misunderstanding! Resnalore thought he tried to steal Peppermint! So she takes action! Sleep! Fey Step! In pure consternation the party watches as Nakor, not only counters the sleep spell with ease, he also lets the fire damage roll of him as if he doesn't care one bit. His face again splits open in a grin, and gleefully he exclaims: 'Fey magic!' His interest is piqued once more. The misunderstanding is soon settled and the party continues on the road. Accompanied by many a mandarine!
'The farmer must be very happy by now!' Nakor proclaims while peeling another mandarine. It seems that not only DID Nakor steal his breakfast, he also left the farmer some gold! So he's a thief, but an honest one. Slow but steady they get to know their knew friend. As a person that enjoys life, and tries to get everything out of it. Seemingly very knowledgeable but mysterious. Thus, the day ends peacefully and camp is set up again. All watches pass without issue. When Resnalore is woken from her meditation, she is surprised to find Nakor sitting opposite herin a perfect copy of her meditation position. She seems to warm up to him, as she allows him to join her during her watch.
As the watch passes, Nakor starts to talk a bit about himself and his past. How he was thrown out of his village for learning magic. Being mistrusted and how now everyone he ever knew, even the whole village has perished. As longevity is not normal in his people. Though he doesn't disclose how he became so old. Meanwhile, his story has lowered Resnalore's barriers as she tells Nakor about her family as well. At the end the question on Resnalore's mind: How come I seem to trust this strange man, even when he claims to be a liar that does tricks?
The next day breaks, without answers...
Comments