Session 12 - Where do we go from here?

General Summary

Interim

Baka is suffering from disturbed sleep. Over the last few days as you recover from your ordeals and make ready for your journey into the Waste Baka has become increasingly weary, waking often in the night sweating and trying to recall strange flashes of imagery. So far, she’s been unable to make any sense of it.
Baka realizes that the task of The Chosen is not something she can do alone. She needs help. She needs biddable minions who will take on the impossible tasks that are likely to be ahead of her. So, she gathers the group together and, using all her leadership skills, speaks to them, her voice rising to a roar as she finishes her speech.
"I can't believe that I am The Chosen. It is not something that any of us sought, but it is the burden that I must bear. I don't yet know what it means, what lays before me, what I will be asked to do. But I know that I will not be able to do it alone. I will need the help of each and every one of you. I will need the unbeatable bravery and skill of Brovar; the fountain of strength and healing of Lilrie; the raw power and might of Digby; the supreme guile and technique of Tripp; and the unrelenting discipline of Sai Kyo. I know that if you are all by my side there is nothing we can't accomplish. So, I ask you now. Join with me. Let us do this together. The road will no doubt be long and treacherous. We will no doubt face impossible challenges. But we are strong and if we stand together, we can overcome anything. What's more we can repay the confidence of Sirenna, Aenwyn and our parents; we can fulfill the prophecy, and we can save Ellios!".
"We go!" says Digby and Tripp.
“Hell, yes”, says Brovar.
“We are with you, sister, and always will be”, says Lilrie.  
“We are one, until death”, says Sai Kyo.

Now look at this fine mess you got me into

We spend some time replenishing our supplies and upgrading our armour. Lilrie buys as many herbs as she can because we know that we will need them going forward. And since we are going into the desert we stock up on grain for the horses, water and wine.
As we prepare for our departure, we consider the Oharith tablets and believe that the lines and words on the back may indicate both the coins to be used and their orientation. We also wonder what Sirenna has been doing all this time. Given that she apparently comes from The Waste it would be very useful if we could meet up and she could guide us.
With that in mind Baka takes out the mirror and asks it to show her Sirenna. It clouds over, and then clears, and we can hear noise, heavy footfalls and indistinct voices, which slowly fade away and we begin to be able to see Sirenna, bound and gagged in a blackened, wooden cage, still alive, but bound. Brovar and Lilrie don’t think the language we heard is common. The view then widens slightly and we can see that the cage is being carried, but we cannot see who is carrying her, just metal-clad boots, in rough terrain, not desert. The mirror continues to show the scene for an extended period, as described by Ecaeris.
Heading out from Sunom the land is lush and green, but we know it will not last long. The route to Gulumi is unclear and we have been told that it used to be a great city with many trade links, but is now in ruins, consumed by the desert. Finding Recently no-one has returned from The Waste. It is rumoured that the Cleansing came from out of The Waste. We follow an old trade route and see squads of soldiers providing protection for groups of travelers.
As we reach the border of the Sunom Protectorate, 3 days into our journey, the signs of habitation dwindle. Foraging for water and supplies has not been difficult so far, but by the end of the first week, the terrain changes becoming more barren. We are now in the 10th month of the year, and the temperature is mild, but we expect it to get hotter and drier the further we go. The first week is uneventful, but we fear the hardships ahead. “If it gets really bad, I am only going to drink my own piss”, says Sai Kyo cheerfully.
Baka asks Riele to find water and the bird flies off. Towards the end of the day, there is still no sign of Riele, and we set up camp for the night, using the standard party order for the watch. As we settle down, Riele returns, holding a palm tree leaf in her beak. Since Baka is tired from a number of sleepless nights, the others take her turn to stand watch. Baka continues to have dreams, waking during the night, screaming, but unfortunately, she cannot remember any details, just having a vague feeling of someone watching her.
Next morning we rise, saddle the horses and set off again following the direction that Riele indicates, after which she settles back on Baka’s horse again. Each time we stray from the course she sets, she flies off again to set us back on course. Sai Kyo also uses his Hostile Environment skills to read the land, and look for water. We are now in the real desert, with rocky canyons, and turning one corner, we stumble upon a number of dead horses and people, with burnt wagons, some still smouldering. We don’t detect any movement and move forward on our horses to investigate the scene.
There are three simple wagons, horses shot by arrows, some horses appear to have been taken, and there are two dozen dead bodies, men, women and children. We notice some movement and find a badly wounded old man. Sai Kyo goes across to him, and gives him some water. “Raiders, from The Waste, taken everyone”. He dies coughing up blood. We scan the area, using our tracking skills, and Digby is not sure of the nature of the attackers, but Lilrie is convinced that it is not Orcs, and finds a trail heading due West, with 20 to 30 riders.
Baka asks Riele to find the attackers, and she races off. We follow the trail and after an hour we see Riele coming back, landing on Baka’s horse’s head. We figure that the attackers must be no more than a few hours ahead so we set off at speed tracking as we go. After about an hour or so, we can smell woodsmoke and slow down. The day is ending and it will be a dark night with little or no moon. We approach a dune and can hear voices from the other side, with the hint of flickering firelight. Digby and the others take out their bows, and we sneak forward to try to get eyes on the attackers, taking up a position on the top of the dune, so that we can peer down into the camp. We see the raiders, sitting round the fire and one or two patrolling and standing watch. It is a large camp, and at the edge we can see water and trees, part of the oasis. In the distance we can see Orcs and people in cages, and even a wolf. We plan our attack carefully; Sai Kyo to take out one of the guards out with Silent Kill and Baka preparing Minor Pain, the sign to start the attack. Digby casts Aura, as Brovar and Tripp move round to line up their bows on the other guards.
Sai Kyo moves silently into position as Baka casts her spell, but the target shrugs off the effects. Tripp fires the first arrow doing an 7A puncture critical, for one more damage, the second arrow is a fumble and he loses his grip, deciding not to shoot. The injured man cries out in pain as Brovar fires at another man on watch, doing a 23E puncture critical, stunning him, for 6 more hits and making him bleed at 5 per round. Sai Kyo executes Silent Kill, and having prepared adrenal speed, attacks twice, an 18E strike critical for 5 more hits, and a 15C critical for 6 more damage.
Next round Digby arrives at the campfire walloping a raider with a 44E slash critical, hitting thru his back, stunned, unable to parry for 12 rounds after which he dies. Sai Kyo strikes perfectly for 44 and two E criticals, the first a combination elbow to the solar plexus, and fist to the face, the second a hip strike, spinning the raider around, stunning him for 2 rounds and doing 5 more hits. That raider is really dead. However, he sees that people at the other fire have grabbed weapons and are running in his direction. Meanwhile Brovar fires again landing a 22D puncture critical, for four more hits. Tripp misses with his first arrow, but the second flies true doing a 20E puncture critical and 5 more hits. Lilrie attacks with her morning star connecting with a 17C crush critical, doing 9 more damage and gaining initiative next round, putting her opponent on -25. Lilrie is hit for a 9A puncture and takes 2 more hits.
As the attackers descend on Sai Kyo he prepares Adrenal Speed in preparation for the next round. Brovar shoots again as the attacker runs towards him. His aim is true doing a 27E puncture critical, finishing him off. Tripp also shoots at point blank range, his first arrow a 15D puncture critical, and 4 more damage, his second a 20E puncture critical, striking thru his foes back, severing his spine, and stunning him. Baka is hit by a lucky strike by one of the raiders for 40 damage, reducing her immediately to 2 hit points remaining. Seeing this Lilrie cries “Sister!” and turns to protect Baka, but misses and Baka just connects doing 5 damage. Digby continues his slaughter, landing a 33E slash critical and doing 5 more hits.
Sai Kyo, prepared with Adrenal Speed, attacks twice, the first doing 12A for 3 more hits, the second for 16D and 6 more hits, gaining initiative next round. Reeling in pain, Baka, on -30 attack, backs away, and the raider turns to attack Brovar, as, out of nowhere, Riele rakes her talons across his face! Digby is up next, with a 25D slash critical, taking out the raider. Lilrie does a 10A crush critical and 3 more hits, and she takes 2 damage in return, lowering her OB by 10. Tripp fires at the approaching raider for 25 damage in total, and B and D puncture criticals, striking his neck, doing 3 hits per round, stunning him for 2 rounds, slashing muscle and cartilage for 6 more hits. Sai Kyo is hit for 9 damage. Bastard.
Moving away Baka prepares Shield, as Brovar, switching to dual-weapon killing-machine mode, attacks with his long sword landing a 12B slash critical, doing 4 more hits, 2 hits per round, and 4 more damage with his mace. Sai Kyo manages a 15C strike, stunning his opponent, and doing 8 more damage. Digby moves to attack another raider, hitting him with a 22C slash, doing 5 more damage, taking him out. No-one messes with Digby! Tripp moves down the slope and takes aim at the raiders around Sai Kyo. This is extreme range and he misses with both arrows. Lilrie then moves to support Sai Kyo as the raiders around him are unable to land a blow.
Next round Sai Kyo strikes doing a 13C critical, stunning the raider, for 6 more hits. Brovar attacks with his long sword for a 20D slash critical, 5 more hits, 3 hits per round and making him unable to attack this round. His mace does a 20E crush critical, fracturing the raider’s leg and doing 12 more hits. Digby and Tripp move North-West to find the remaining raiders as Baka casts Shield on herself. Lilrie is hit for 5 damage, and does 8 damage in return.
Brovar races in to attack, but the raider gets in first, doing a 23E slash critical on Brovar, and 3 more hits. This only enrages him further. Sai Kyo does a 21E strike to his foe, elbow to solar plexus, fist to face, killing him at last. Digby and Tripp continue moving North West scouting the rest of the camp. Lilrie does a 16C puncture, stunning her raider, making him unable to parry for 2 rounds, on -50 and 5 extra hits. Baka checks the overall situation, as Brovar’s long sword does 4 damage while his mace crushes the raider’s side with an 19C critical, 5 hits per round, stunning him and making him unable to parry for 3 rounds, and on -25.
Next round Brovar attacks first with his long sword, doing 37 damage and an E and B criticals, for 9 more hits, killing the raider instantly. Sai Kyo hits the last raider standing for a 20E critical and 6 more hits and Lilrie follows up with a 25D crush critical, killing him.
We congregate around the cages and Lilrie heals Baka for 14 hits, putting her on 16. Considering the number of people that we saw, there could still be a large group out there. As we are gathering ourselves, Lilrie hears a large body of horses approaching and a host of raiders, 20 to 30 strong, surround us. Darts fly out of the darkness, hitting us all, and we slip into unconsciousness.
We eventually come to, with no understanding of the time passed. We are held in cages and have been stripped of all our equipment. We are in a building and others are in cages around us, some of whom are unconscious. Our wounds have been tended to, but worryingly, there is no sign of Riele. Baka and Lilrie have helmets, locked in place, presumably to stop them using spells. Curiously, only Digby is bound and we are not gagged. There are no windows, so we cannot see where we are.
After an hour or so, a door opens, we see that it is daylight, but the door soon closes. An old man has entered pulling a cart which carries a cooking pot and some bowls. He begins to serve food to the people in the cages and eventually reaches us. Baka asks him where we are, and who holds us. He said that it is best not to ask and said that we put up quite a fight. Looking at him she can see that he was once a powerful warrior, but has lost an eye and an arm. Brovar tells him that we can help him escape, but he says that it is not possible to escape from the Raiders of The Waste.
Baka manages to hypnotize the man and asks him for the keys to the cages and our equipment. He says that both are very difficult to get to. Digby mentions Bhulk , the smith, and this shakes him out of his hypnotic state. “You know Bhulk, he is alive? I will come back”, he says.
Three hours later he returns and asks more about Bhulk. We learn that his name is Entar and he used to adventure with Bhulk 30 or more years ago. He starts to explain what this place is. We are deeper into The Waste in a place used by the raiders for gladiatorial games. These are ancient ruins, maybe of a temple, and the raiders have built a wooden stockade and seating for fights among the different races, fights to the death.
Entar tells us that there is a large, domed, stone building, at the centre of the complex which no-one can enter. There are rumours of a sleeping dragon. In the games, if you can climb to the top of the dome and take the flag then they will set that person and one person of their choosing, free. Bhulk managed to do this, and took Entar with him, but the raiders went back on their word. Entar was badly injured in that battle, and Bhulk managed to escape soon after. He says that the games are held every 6 months, and the last were about 6 months ago.
The dome is 50ft high, and the doors 20ft. The building is bound with metal bands, which go across the doors. The metal is tough and cannot be marked. We wonder whether the bands are there to keep something in, or to keep people out. There are smaller buildings around and the raiders put people in them to let people out over time. Four other small buildings exist, but people who go in die a terrible death, says Entar, not when they go in, but when they come out, screaming in agony, with blood streaming from every orifice. He continues to tell us that they have Orcs, Ogres, War Trolls, Giant Scorpions, Wolves, Bears and Lions.
Pointing at Brovar, Digby and Sai Kyo Entar says that they won’t take you first, they will take the weak ones in the other cages. They might lock you in a building, release you, or lock you in and pour snakes onto you, or let lions out on you. You might not get your own weapon, but some of the weapons and armor taken are made available so you might be lucky. For fun, the raiders sometimes fire on people, especially when they start climbing the dome.
We ask him to release us but he says that if he does so, we will all be killed. We also ask him about Riele, but he has not seen a Hawk flying about. What he can do is draw in the dirt, and explain, a map of the area for us. As time passes Lilrie recognizes that her Power Points are back and we all heal by 8, putting Sai Kyo back up to maximum and Baka on to 24.

Kitty

• Session start – 1160 gold, 187 silver
• Income – none
• Expenses – 280 gold for herbs, 20 gold on equipment and supplies, and everything else was stolen!
• Session end – the clothes on our back and absolutely nothing else

Report Date

26 Feb 2021