The Dangers of Darkbough
Sessions 26 - 31
The situation with the Vass'anasss hunting party grows tense, and the expedition members ready themselves for a potential fight, but the Halis'allah guides, alongside Qas and Bara, reach an accord with the Tess'tess, the leader of the hunters. In exchange for allowing themselves to be taken prisoner, the expedition will be escorted back to the Vass'anasss village so that the chief may determine their fates. Once healed, they begin a two day forced march through Darkbough Forest under the watch of the hunters to the village of the Vass'anasss.
The foreigners are taken before the chief, where Tess'tess explains the situation. Chief Sses'el'iss thanks the guides, then turns his attention back to the expedition. Qas presents herself as the Speaker for her group with the approval of Genis, leading to an amicable resolution. The expedition would be declared temporary guests of the village while the chief and elders make a final decision. Thanking them, Genis takes counsel with the expedition members, eventually deciding to stay outside the village walls where they will be allowed to rearm and defend themselves.
Several days later, Sses'el'iss presents an ultimatum to the expedition - if they desire to stay, they must provide immediate and tangible aid to the tribe. Tess'tess suggests they kill a "shamber" without the help of the tribe, to prove themselves as assets by saving Vass'anasss lives. The elders agree, calling for them to provide proof that they killed a shambling mound within one week. While wary of the offer, Bara and Qas convince the expedition leadership to accept, taking responsibility for slaying the monster. Morgan Greyson also asks to join the hunt, offering his skills as a tracker and woodsman. Bara is able to divine the location of a nearby shambling mound and after a couple of days in the woods, they find their quarry. A difficult fight ensues but they end up succeeding in slaying two different shambling mounds. Suitably impressed by the prowess of the party, the chief declares that the expedition will be given free reign of the ruins as long as they continue to help the tribe.
With the blessing of the Vass'anasss, the expedition finally gains access to the Bregaran Exit. As the study of the ruins moves into full swing, most of the expedition members spend the entire time at the ruin, but the Red Blade Outkasts spend this time active in the area. Bara primarily works with the researchers, and her very presence accelerates the research progress significantly. She also begins flirting with Morgan Greyson, who eventually finds the courage to shyly return her advances. Rayne, on the other hand, spends her time either helping the Vass'anasss deal with dangerous beasts, or bonding with Oskra. Her efforts to connect with nature pays off, and she forges a primal connection with the bear cub. who begins to mature rapidly, becoming a loyal companion to Rayne. Finally, Qas when not aiding Rayne and the Vass'anasss warriors, finds mentor in Aemon Aemonson who discovers that Qas is an apt pupil with magical implements. While the reptilian rogue has no magical skills of her own, Aemon notes that her natural affinity for magical tools may hide an untapped talent for some variety of spellcasting withing Qas.
The chief researchers at the dig discover a wealth of information over the next month, but find themselves ultimately stymied by the remaining settlements laying behind miles of collapsed tunnels. With the exploration completed, the team starts taking down the non-permanent dig infrastructure and preparing to return to Nettle Lake. With the partnership with the locals coming to an end, Chief Sses'el'iss calls for a feast in the village, and invites the expedition members to attend. Accepting the offer, the foreigners head to the village for a night of celebration. Many of the expedition members split off and join their hosts in the festivities while the leadership and the Outkasts wait for their invitation to join the council, but notice a team of concerned scouts return to the village.
Qas goes to chief's hut and listens in on the conversation, and while the particulars evade her, she is able to tell that the scouts have lost track of something - and that the chief is concerned about the development. Unable to discern much more, she returns to the party and tells them about her discovery as they join the council of elders. There is a gift giving potion which heavily favors the Outkasts, followed by the feasting in earnest. Qas inquires as to the emergency meeting and Tess'tess reveals that the Anasss'gura, another tribe of lizardfolk, have seemingly disappeared. Eventually, the Outkasts make a deal where Tess'tess and his warriors help escort the expedition to Union lands, after which Bara, Qas, Rayne, and Morgan will search for the Anasss'gura on behalf of Vass'anasss. The chief agrees and toasts to the greatness of these Union allies.
The following day, the expedition starts the trek back to the east. Thanks to their guardians, the journey is much faster and less perilous, and not even a week later, the team arrives back to Veradil. On they way, Tess'tess reveals that somewhere deep within Darkbough lays a ruin that is older than even the tribe lorekeepers know. Genis asks the Outkasts to see if the ruins exist, and to return any information they can find. In exchange, Genis restocks their supplies from the expedition's coffers, and the group spends their final evening together in good companionship. After a good night's rest, the remaining expedition members bid farewell to the Outkasts as they go their separate ways.
With the Vass'anasss guides, the Outkasts and Morgan Greyson make it back to the village with no trouble. They sit down to discuss the ancient ruins and the village council confirms that the ruins themselves are older than the entire oral tradition of the Vass'anasss. However, they believe them to be cursed, which is part of why their people moved as far to the north as they could. The elders suggest that the Outkasts think carefully about going anywhere near the ruins, and beg them not to anger anything that might threaten the forest. The Outkasts thank the elders, and start making final preparations to head into the "deep forest" of Darkbough. The following morning, the Outkasts head southward, guided by the veteran hunter Nas'galan. The journey lasts two days through the increasingly dense foliage before giving way to an open marsh a few hundred yards across. Nas'galan explains that this marks the limits of Vass'anasss lands, and that he can accompany them no farther. He disappears back into the shadowy forest, leaving the Outkasts to discovers the waist deep waters are infested with giant leeches. They manage to defeat many of the creatures, but not before Qas is gravely injured and in need of healing. The group pushes into the Deep Forest and sets up camp far enough from the water to keep the leeches from pursuing them further. Aided by healing from Bara, Qas gets her back on her feet, but the party renews their trek much more slowly and carefully.
Despite being relatively familiar with Darkbough Forest, progress slows to a crawl the next day. Morgan is stymied by the density of the forest, making it difficult to keep his bearings and is forced to find safer paths around the hazards that fill the woods. A second night finds a much better rested Qas, and the party decides to move a bit faster at the cost of some of their caution. Things start looking up for the group when Bara spots an armed lizardfolk staring at the group from the undergrowth. The scout flees and the group gives chase, just about losing the scout when a scream followed by a roar echoes through the trees. The group comes across the remains of the scout, partially torn apart, and moves into a defensive position. Morgan spots a large snake-like, which Bara recognizes as a hydra, and the group scatters, surrounding it as it lunges for the attack. The battle is hard fought, but they are eventually victorious, even giving Qas the opportunity to practice her still very new skills with magical items.
After performing a quick sending for the scout's spirit, Morgan adjusts his tracking technique, and picks up a path that he believes will lead the group to the Anasss'gura. Another hard day of travel later, the Outkasts find a collection of huts surrounded by a sturdy log wall, very similar to the Vass'anasss village. The group calls out but get no reply, so they decide to approach the village while identifying themselves as allies. They enter the gates of the village to find it not only abandoned, but filled with the corpses of lizardfolk tribesmen. The group decides to search the largest huts in the village center, assuming them to belong to important members of the community, while Bara casts some magical spells to keep an eye out for either trouble or survivors. The search turns up the corpses of the clutchmother and chief of the Anasss'gura people, and Bara discovers some kind of creature or creatures moving around the village, although she cannot pinpoint their location.
The group moves to investigate when a quivering mass of ooze attacks them. While not the most dangerous creature the group has fought, Morgan is seriously injured, and many of the group's weapons and armor are deteriorated by the slime's touch. Bara tries to attend to Morgan inside the chief's hut while Rayne and Qas do a quick assessment of the damage to the group's gear, but they are interrupted by a creature that identifies herself with the name "Lyukikyoth." The Outkasts recognize her as some kind of dark fey, demanding to know the fate of the villagers and her purpose in being here. She largely ignore the demands of the group, disappearing and reappearing seemingly at will, moving to the Morgan's side before effortlessly tearing his shadow from his body! The Outkasts rush to his side as Lyukikyoth vanishes into the night, mentioning something about coming from the temple as she disappears. As she leaves, Morgan falls into a coma and Bara uses the last of her magic to try to stabilize his condition, but it doesn't seem like it is enough. Lacking other options, Qas mentions that Morgan had a healing potion on him, so they start going through his belongings. Emptying his belt pouch, they find his potion, but also discover that he has been hiding an orange scarf exactly like the ones worn by Verant and his gang.
Relations
Allies
- Morgan Greyson - Originally just another sell-sword guarding the expedition, Morgan tagged along with the Outkasts on their most daring treks, eventually bonding with the former mercenaries as friends and comrades-in-arms.
- Genis Ailer - Initially wary of the Outkasts taking the lead in negotiating with the Vass'anasss, Genis quickly learned to put her trust in the adventurers, eventually considering them to be of equal importance to the venture as the expedition leadership.
- Butch, the Lizardfolk Adventurer - While only able to play a small part aiding the Outkasts, Butch spoke on their behalf to the Vass'anasss and aided with the "heavy lifting" of setting up the Bregaran Exit research camp.
- Aemon Aemonson - A recent graduate of the Aracana Academy, Aemon was surprised by Qas's skill with magic tools, and took it upon himself to work as her tutor in the arcane arts during their stay at the Bregaran Exit.
- Tess'tess - Despite being usually distant towards outsiders, Tess'tess was continually impressed by the skill at arms demonstrated by Rayne and the other Outkasts (but mostly Rayne). Once their time in the Darkbough came to an end, he recognized the outsiders as some of the most skilled warriors he knew.
Neutrals/Bystanders
Parent Plot
Related Locations
Comments