Session Report 48

General Summary

Tev surveyed the battlefield thanks to his massive form and having finally taken the high ground from the drow. As he scanned to his left he saw Sauvek turned to stone by an elemental and then promptly thrown into the lava by the whip of the drow captain. Cambio quickly fled and Tev could only question the extent of Cambio's cowardness. The newcomer Sully had disappeared in the fray and was no where to be seen. Tev was alone, left to face the drow horde on his own. 
Knowing the odds were stacked against him, Tev raised a bubble of magical darkness around himself to obscure himself from the drow as he attempted to formulate a plan. As he collected his thoughts he could hear Shade and Zonraven in the distance as they joined the battle. Feeling confident, Tev left the protective darkness and began battling the drow captain in a daring battle. Shade quickly joined the battle, but Zonraven lagged behind. The difficult terrain of the battlefield proved to be difficult for the heavy armored paladin to traverse easily and his progress was slow. Shade easily climbed up and down the cliffs and obtained a vantage point to fire at the drow. Finally, Tev had help. 
The drow captain was formidable and Tev was nearly felled by the whip wielding drow captain, but with a mighty strike of his huge maul he knocked the captain unconscious. The rest of the drow seeing their captain felled and facing a massive fifteen foot tall human became very afraid. They began to retreat, but the Muskrats were out for blood. Tev moved in to cut off their retreat, while Shade shot those who managed to sneak past the ferocious and anger filled swings of Tev's maul. As the last drow fell, Zonraven finally made it to the drow captain to prepare for his interrogation. 
The Muskrats began their interrogation of the drow captain, but quickly they realized that he was going to be tight lipped about why he attacked the Muskrats. Finally, with tactful convincing by Tev and Zonraven, the drow captain revealed that his name was Tozar Nezzberrean, a drow house captain from House Nezzberrean. House Nezzberrean resides in the western portion of Ashenfall. Questioning why he was present east of the drow's territory, Tozar revealed that he had been tracking Tritemeus and discovered that the Muskrats had met with him and thus were targeting them because of that. With further prodding Tozar revealed that the drow had been battling Tritemeus in the underground because of his attempts to awaken Rorn the Everblazing-Fury, but were losing the battle in the Underdark because of his use of Flame Dragons and that an Ancient Red Dragon had sided with him. Resorting to an attack of desperation of the drow went to the surface in an attempt to disrupt the plans above and kill Tritemeus. The Muskrats believing that Tozar may know additional information about Tritemeus they continued the conversation and learned that Tritemeus had been opening portals to the Plane of Fire and was receiving assistance from the Plane in some way. 
Having extracted all the information they wanted from Tozar, the Muskrats faced a choice of whether or not to kill Tozar. Believing he may have some use in saving Sauvek from the lava, the Muskrats employed Tozar to save him from his lava grave. Using magic unfamiliar to the Muskrats, Tozar lifted Sauvek from the lava. Choosing to spare Tozar because of his aid to the Muskrats, Tozar was let free. He let the Muskrats know that if they ever faced trouble in the Underdark with drow that perhaps the mention of his name could save them from an all out battle. Parting ways the Muskrats continued on their way to the Wild Hunt. 
With a couple more days of hard traveling through the valley the Muskrats began to notice vegetation that had not been seen during any other part of their journey and small game were living in the area. They had reached the current domain of the Lord of the Hunt. The Muskrats began a long climb into the low mountains on the eastern side of Ashenfall. As they traversed the winding path they began to see signs made of animal bones and hides on the sides of the trail. At the top they reached a small valley flanked by low peaks, and within the valley stood the camp for the Wild Hunt. Men and women of all races, mostly dressed in hides and fur filled the camp. Few tents were erected in the camp, most of the hunters were sleep on the ground. The smell of cooked meat and various alcohols filled the air. A strong animal musk also broke through the smell of foods. 
Many of the hunters began to take a gander of Tev due to his large size, but Tev had eyes for only one man: Jaison. Jaison was an old comrade of Tev and the two shared a long history. The two reconnected after much surprise of finding each other. Jaison shared details of what had happened to him after the two departed and Jaison also shared that Redbeard had been captured by one of the Beasts of the Wild Hunt and was being held captive. Apparently, one of the Beasts had sunk his ship and taken him as a spoil of war. Agreeing to meet later for drinks, the two went their separate ways until then. 
Tev and Shade continued towards the Lord of the Hunt's court, but Zonraven chose to stray from them and explore the camp. He would stumble upon orcs engaging in a banquet of skewered rat and fermented goat's milk. Enjoying himself Zonraven forget all the troubles of his life for the last time. 
Tev and Shade reached the Lord of the Hunt's court. A structure formed entirely out of tree, bushes, vines, and other vegetation formed the walls. Seemingly, no doors were apparent from the outside. One of the two guards stationed outside called for the two to be let in, and the dense thicket parted allowing the two to enter. The interior was dark with little light breaching the canopy. In the dimly lit room the two Muskrats began to observe the individuals known as the Beasts of the Wild Hunt, the inner court members of the Lord. Wynbella and Pocket quickly approached and congratulated Shade on making it to the Wild Hunt. Wynbella quickly provided a rundown of the other Beasts of the Wild Hunt and who to look out for. 
Vasled Aspentail
The longest reigning Beast, Vasled is a centaur male who joined the Lord of the Hunt from a land of great distance from Drasdorden. Vasled is known for charging directly at his prey and wielding a massive glaive that was given to him by the Lord of the Hunt. Lupo Nero, the Wolf Beast, is as large as a horse and is known for his completely black coat. It is said Lupo Nero stalks his prey from their own shadows and can unleash a deadly blast of shadows from his maw that inflict horrific injury upon his foes. Vasled and Lupo are among the most feared of the Six Beasts because of their combat prowess and cunning nature.
Voldujus Neswunax
Voldujus is a gem male dragonborn that is known for having a grand sense of honor. Voldujus believes that hunt must adhere to strict tenets to be honorful. For example, Voldujus would never play with his prey, but rather provide a swift death. Voldujus is a strong believer in that there is such a thing as "worthy prey." That is a hunter should only hunt prey that provides a worthwhile challenge and tests his skills. For Voldujus he wishes to become an apex predator that none could ever dare to hunt. His Beast is Aedel, the Eagle Spirit. Aedel is known for swiftly attacking enemies and grappling his foes into great heights and simply letting them fall to the ground. Aedel and his companions have in the past been known to have significant tension with the other Beasts because Aedel has consider herself to be of higher standing than the others.
Kazagath
Kazagath is a male goliath who hails from a remote region of the Kjempe Peaks that straddles the border of the Morrand Alliance and Vladdingmore. Of all the Beasts, Kazagath may be the most formidable hunter. He is known for unwavering determination in a hunt and a great willingness to engage his "prey" directly in a contest of might. Often called Kazagath the Prideful, he is also well known for wielding Dawn and Dusk, a magical mace and sickle. His companion is Shumba Yendarama, a massive golden lion that exudes radiant energy and is known for magical control over light. Shumba has often clashed with his fellow fae spirit Aedel over who should be closest to the Lord himself.
Ulthe
Ulthe is a female lizardfolk who first met the Lord of the Hunt himself while he was traveling in Joral near Seca. Ulthe only a young hatchling at the time began a "hunt" of the Lord. For years this Ulthe's "hunt" continued but it continually failed and slowly she became a close companion of the Lord's hunting party. Ulthe would join with Ushaka Onolaka, the Shark Beast. Ulthe and Ushaka both share many traits such as the fact that both display nearly unmatched ferocity when on a hunt but otherwise are relatively withdrawn and care little for the court politics that the others engage in. Also unique to Ulthe is that her fae spirit is the only with an affinity for water, and she completely outmatches all others in hunting aquatic creatures. When in water Ushaka is as dangerous as the greatest aquatic monsters such as krakens and dragon turtles. Few should ever dare of challening him in his domain.
After sharing this information with Tev and Shade, Wynbella returned to his location. An announcement was made that the Lord of the Hunt would soon be joining the court. Everyone looked towards the shadowy back of the court where the Lord's throne stood. Comprised of tangled roots and vines, foliage, and moss, and finally adorned with a massive set of antlers, the throne was an embodiment of the Lord. Before the Muskrats saw the Lord, they could smell him. A strong animal like musk wafted before him. When he stepped from beyond the shadows Tev and Shade saw a large elvish looking man. Dressed in all hides and furs. Antlers grew from his head and his body was adorned with tattoos of symbols that they did not recognize and scars from past hunts. Long brown hair hung past his shoulder, in between the strands of hairs were plants intertwined. His body was muscular and tanned, likely from the continuous hunting that he engaged in. He carried both a short sword and a longbow. Both appeared to be ancient and of exquisite make. 
The room was tense. The Lord broke the silence that had fallen upon the room. "So you have the Wild Hunt." It was certainly not a question, but rather a statement. The conversation that ensued between the Lord and Shade involved short curt statements by the Lord and Shade attempting to be as diplomatic as he could. Eventually, the conversation turned towards Shade's life, why he chose to attend the hunt, and whether, he wished to become a member of the Lord's court. Uncertain of whether the Lord was impressed by anything Shade had to say, he offered Shade a challenge in the coming hunt to prove himself. Kill one of the dragons or a lava worm and Shade would succeed in proving himself to the Lord and the court. Accepting the challenge, the Lord departed and the other Beasts began to move. In particular Kazagath approached Tev and began to eye him up and down the way a predator views their prey. A short conversation began but it was filled with subtle threats by Kazagath towards Tev that perhaps he should be the one hunted and that Kazagath had always wanted to hunt a giant. Growing worried about what may follow if they stay any longer, the two Muskrats left to find Zonraven, but they would not find him alive. 
Zonraven had, while Tev and Shade spoke to the Lord, become rather drunk. He was then approached by a middle aged man named Ned. Ned claimed that a lost long friend of Zonraven had spotted him in the camp and asked Ned to fetch Zonraven for them. Zonraven curious about who it could be followed Ned. Ned led Zonraven away from camp and through a tight pass into a small open space between the cliffs in the area. Standing there was Ember, with a woman that was quickly revealed to be Ned's wife that had been taken captive. Ember told Zonraven that he would pay for abandoning her, and an argument began over who was truly responsible for what happened. As Zonraven drew his sword to charge her, an explosion rocked him from beyond as dynamite exploded. It was thrown by the Ashkeepers who were hiding up in the cliffs. Wanting to get revenge on Ember Zonraven charged her. The Ashkeepers opened fire with muskets and Zonraven began to become riddled with bullets. Just as he reached Ember she vanished in a puff of ash and appeared behind him. He began to run back towards her, but the trap proved to be too great for him. One of the Ashkeepers' bullets dropped him to the ground. The sounds of Ember's footsteps approached as Zonraven faded in and out of consciousness. She looked over him, pulled a flintlock pistol from her belt, and said "I told you that you would pay if you didn't hold up your end of the bargain. Consider your debt paid." She pulled the trigger and shot Zonraven through the right eye. 
Unable to find Zonraven on the eve of the hunt, Shade found a place to rest, and Tev met up with Jaison. Early in the morning the camp was a buzz over the hunt, but another event had the camp filled with excitement. Drawn to the center of the excitement, the Muskrats pushed through the crowd to find Zonraven impaled on a spike with a note attached to him. Shade pulled the note from his body and read it. "Consider us even." A young man approached the Muskrats as they read the note.

Report Date

21 Apr 2022